The Dragon Heart
by Carol J Forrester
Summary: Did Uther truly believe he could defeat the dragon lords? The old powers are stirring, and Merlin will find himself at the center once more, but he will soon find that knowing your family, can bring more problems that could have ever been anticipated. The Dragon Heart will be found, but what does that mean for Albion? And who should Merlin trust? Originally A Dragon Lord's Famiy
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter One 

Kaida could hear them calling for her in the courtyard below. The faded voiced of servants as they scrambled to find her, unwilling to climb the Dragon towers and search the rooftops, meaning that she's safe for now.

Leaning back against the parapet Kaida watched the skies, the haze of barely formed clouds broken up by flashes of colour as the Dragons dived across it, their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies, spiralling downwards before pulling up at the last moment. They seemed to weave through the ebony stands of hair which danced in front of her eyes, glittering a brilliant, deep jade as they tracked each dragon's flight. She belonged up on the towers.

They had been her hideaway when she was younger, just as they still were in some ways, an escape from the murmurs of the ghost court below. Little power remained in Canicus Castle, the draughty old half-ruin that she'd grown up in. During the summer, the sun would warm to stone walls, and bright light would cause the sea around the island to shimmer and dance, beckoning the blooming flowers to spread their petals and explode in vast arrays of colours. However, when winter came, the winds howled around the towers and city boundaries, making the rooftops so dangerous, that every citizen was forbidden from climbing upon them.

Only dragons would brave the storms. Their wings could slice through the hammering rain and snatching gales so effortlessly, that anyone watching would have thought that it were a calm day. No one did watch though. No one but Kaida, the only daughter of Balinor Fraener.

Her father was a badly formed memory. The blurred face of a man and a whiskery chin scrapping against her cheek as he kissed her goodbye. He left her with little else, except the stories of his youth, to be told by those who would always know him better.

There had been no mother for her to turn to, only a rather stern nursemaid, who scolded her for crying and told her to behave like the princess she was. Kaida hated her nursemaid and didn't care when the woman died the next year, carried off by the sweating sickness.

The nursemaid's words stuck though, and when the news came that Uther had betrayed Balinor and entrapped the Great Dragon, Kaida refused to weep. Despite the skies filling with the keening of Dragon's, their mourning pitching through the air as they lamented and swore revenge, Kaida's eyes remained dry. Her father was in her memory, after all, only a blurred face and the scratch of stubble against skin.

The news had broken what was left of her grandmother's pride. A woman, once iron clad in her resolves, crumbled beneath the sorrow of losing her son so soon after the loss of her husband during the purge.

Kaida was born once the purge had begun her grandfather already dead and her father fighting beneath the mantel that was left. She was told that Uther was cruel, twisted by hate and grief, taking vengeance against the world for his wife's death in any way that he could.

There was supposed to be peace. Her father left to secure a peace between the dragons and Camelot, but Balinor never came home and the dragons were forced into exile. The last Dargon Lord of the Fraener Clan simply vanished.

"_Kaida?_" Imogene's voice bobbed up, the warm rumble pushing away the memories of waiting for her father to return. Bringing her back into the present where the wind is shrieking and the dragons are soaring above her.

Imogene was her dragon, the hatchling that had chosen her when Kaida had first been taken to the nests at six years old. Her uncle had claimed she was too young, but her grandmother had stood her ground for once, and as a child, Kaida had followed Lord Hathorn to the nests and found her dragon.

She wasn't a dragon lord, so she was unable to command a dragon to do as she wished, but it was rare that Imogene would disobey her. The link between an individual dragon and dragon-child was more personal, and often the lords would bind themselves more closely to a single dragon to form the same bond.

"_Kaida? Why are you hiding on that tower top?_" Imogene asked, her growl hidden just beneath the words and her worry causing Kaida's stomach to clench. Kaida shook her head, dropping her gaze to the lichen speckled slabs beneath her.

"Eleanor is locked away in the nursery again." she muttered, almost spitting the words as they came out more vehemently that she had expected them to.

"_You should go to her."_ Imogene said, navigating the air currents expertly and hovering above the tower. The dragons rarely strayed far from Canicus any more, the Island had become the only place where they felt safe, one of the few places where they felt free of Uther's grasp.

"I refuse to go in that room." Kaida remind her, tilting her head back and leaning it against the rough stone. She looked up at the shimmer of violet and silver, bobbing gently above her. "You know how I feel about that room." she added more softly.

There parapets around the tower groan and crack, stone chips flying as Imogene manages to land on the tower, her talons securing her to the protesting perch.

"_Go to her." _She repeated, her face barely centimetres from Kaida's, smoke coiling lazily from her nostrils.

"You've been roasting birds again." Kaida observed, catching a whiff of singed feathers on the smoke.

A small puff of smoke engulfs her as Imogene snorted, sending Kaida spluttering and waving as she tried to clear the air.

"Hey!" she yelled, still choking on her words so they came out more strained and brittle than she would have liked.

"_Go to her!"_ Imogene ordered.

"No!" Kaida snapped, still waving to clear the air. "I will not deal with that fool!"

"She is your step-mother." Imogene growled. "She loves you as if you were her own!"

"She is a woman who my father got pregnant, they never married, the only link we ever shared was the baby, and he **died**!"

The wind itself seemed to die, the banners around the castle sagging back against their walls as the sudden calm swept over Canicus. Kaida braced herself, clamping her mouth shut as she waited for the next cloud of smoke to engulf her.

The air remained clear and Imogene gazed down at her with pity.

"_It smells of dirt and stone._" she said quietly, the words humming against the edges of Kaida's mind.

"What?" Kaida ask, her brow furrowing in confusion, "What exactly smells of dirt and stone?"

"_The hatchling's grave."_ Imogene clarified, widening her eyes in what could only be construed as a meaningful way. Kaida stared back, still at a loss for what the dragon could mean.

"You make less and less sense every day." she muttered, patting Imogene on the nose before standing up and heading towards the trap-door which led back into the castle. "What else are graves meant to smell like?" mutter Kaida to herself.

She pulled the trap-door closed above her, doing her best to ignore the way in which the tower shook and dust fell from the ceiling as Imogene too flight again. She hurried down the stairs, darting into the unused corridors she had committed to memory and avoiding the ones which were used by anyone who would bother her.

Kaida was used to the servants shrinking away from her, hiding in alcoves until the Princess had walked past. As the Queen's granddaughter she wasn't supposed to walk around with a sword strapped to her hip, in leather britches for riding and a purple shirt which was rolled up at the sleeves and dragged in at the waist by a thick black belt. Kaida refused to stick to the rules, and she scared more than a few people because of that. Or perhaps it was simply her personality as her cousin Erin often liked to suggest.

"Kaida!"

"Crap." Kaida cursed, the door to her chambers within sight as her cousin's voice jumped out at her. "So close." she muttered, turning on her heels reluctantly to see Erin walking sedately towards her, his cheeks flushed, suggesting that until that point he'd been running.

"Nursery?" she asked, already aware of what the answer was going to be.

"Afraid so." He said apologetically, already leading the way at a brisk jog. Kaida followed more slowly, knowing the way overly well, and in no rush to reach her destination. She ran over what Imogene had said about the grave, unable to place what it was within the description that niggled at her thoughts. She broke the sentence down, turned the words over in her mind and sought to find whatever it was, but it remained elusive.

"Kaida?" Erin's voice snapped through her thoughts.

Blinking, she realised they'd already crossed the majority and were closing in on the gaggle of people, including her grandmother, standing around the nursery door. She slipped through the bodies, ignoring the odd sighs of relief as someone murmured about all being well, the young princess had arrived.

"ELEANOR LET ME IN!" The muttering died immediately, a few stunned faces gawking at Kaida as she hammered on the door and yelled at her step-mother within. "NOW ELEANOR!"

The lock clicked, and she shouldered her way past the oak slab, rusted hinges whining unpleasantly as she did so. She opened it enough for her to slip through, and slammed it as quickly as she could, just catching the disgruntled mutterings from the other side.

Around her, the room stood the same as ever. Abandoned toys scattered across the dusty floor, and the moth tatter crib standing by the window, reminders of the child that Eleanor lost.

Picking her way over, Kaida knelt down next to Eleanor who was crouched beside the wooden crib. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, the flesh around her eyes red and swollen but her skin still holding a ghastly grey pallor.

"Eleanor?" Kaida tried, receiving a small flinch in response. "Eleanor, what is it this time?"

Her face turned and her eyes darted to meet Kaida's, fixing the girl with a manic stare as she clutched at the blanket she had pulled from the crib. Kaida had often thought the room should have been cleared, it never did anyone any good to linger too long over the past.

"I made a horrible mistake!" she cried, lunging for Kaida and grabbing hold of her arms, pulling Kaida closer. "I should have kept him! My baby!"

Kaida didn't bother to try and pull her arms free, she knew from experience that Eleanor's grip was stronger than death once it got hold of you.

"The baby died Eleanor, it wasn't your choice, you did nothing wrong." Kaida soothed.

"No!" she screeched, yanking at Kaida's arms. "I sent him away! I sent him away!"

"Eleanor—"

"No! Listen to me!" Eleanor demanded, her eyes darting back and forth manically, searching Kaida's face. "He is still alive! We sent him away, it was all a lie! I—"

The doors splintered, threatening to break from their hinges as they burst open and Kaida's uncle stormed into the room. His guards followed, ripping Eleanor from her place and dragging her from the room, her voice screaming curses down the hallways as they went.

"Are you alright my dear?" Kaida shuddered at her uncle's words, hating how 'dear' sounded when it came out of his mouth. Out of all her relatives, Erin and her grandmother were the ones she could stand, and her uncle was the one she hated above all else.

"I'm fine uncle." she reassured him, rising to her feet and sweeping past him. "It looks like you have everything under control." she hissed.

He nodded gratefully, his satisfied smirk lining his lips as he missed the sarcasm.

"I'll see you at the feast." He called, "You won't forget will you?" Kaida shook her head, reaching out for the wall once she had rounded the corner, leaning against the cool stone for support as her head began to pound. The migraine seemed to fill her head, exploding anew with each step as she made her way cautiously towards her chambers, craving the soft darkness of her bed.

Why was it that the whole family seemed so screwed up?

_**Updated 19/11/2012**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Two

Arthur was becoming very tempted to slam Merlin across the head with his cross bow. Every move the boy made just seemed to send any possibly prey hurtling in the opposite direction. At the moment he was somehow managing to remain quite, crouched down in the undergrowth with the other knights as the King lined up a magnificent buck, which stood in a clearing about fifty yards away.

"Arthur." Merlin called softly, breaking the silence and startling the deer. With a flurry of hoof beats the creature fled into the forest, vanishing between the trees and leaving Arthur aiming at nothing.

Turning on his servant Arthur glared at him furiously,

"What Merlin! What could you possibly need to tell me?"

Merlin's reply was cut off as the forest filled with the sound of yells, the foliage around them erupting as bandits leapt up out of the surrounding area, swords drawn and advancing on the hunting party.

"That." Merlin said darkly, standing up with the other knights as they prepared to fight off the attackers.

The clash of steel against steel rang out as Arthur's weapon met with one of the bandit's, sending the man's sword back away from him and giving him the opportunity to finish him off with a quick jab to the stomach. These men weren't trained to fight, and the hunting party quickly finished them off, leaving one man stood on his own, swinging his sword wildly at the advancing knights.

"TRAITOR!" He screeched, pointing towards Merlin with the tip of his sword, resulting in a number of confused looks. "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE FRAENER! YOUR KIND THINK THAT YOU ARE SO MUCH CLEVER THAT THE REST OF US! BUT WE WORKED IT OUT! SEE HOW YOUR MOTHER FEELS WHEN SHE SEES THE CHILD SHE GAVE UP AS NOTHING MORE THAN A BLOODY CORPSE!" The man lunged forward, heading for Merlin, only to stop half way and fall to his knees.

He stared dumbly down at the arrow sticking out of his chest, the crossbow that Arthur had not had chance to fire at the buck cradled casually in the King's hands.

"Too late little lost Prince." The man croaked, looking back at Merlin, "The others already know."

His laughed, the chuckles catching with the blood seeping into his lungs until there was nothing but drowning gasps and he slumped down dead. His eyes stared out at nothing, his teeth still grinning and stained red.

"What the hell was that?" Gwaine asked, nudging the lifeless body with his foot before kicking the sword away.

"I have no idea." Merlin said, watching the body of the man with a fearful sort of curiosity, "Who did he think I was?"

The knights all shrugged, and Arthur simply ignored the conversation.

"He was obviously insane; there is no way you could be who he thought you were. He'd obviously been paying attention to too many tavern stories."

"Hey!" protested Gwaine, "I'll have you know that those stories can serve as a very reliable source for information. You just need to know where to look."

Shaking his head Arthur focused on heading away from the bodies, intending to find somewhere to camp for the night and then head home in the morning.

"Let's get moving." He ordered, "I want to be back in Camelot by tomorrow."

Gathering up their things the rest of the hunting party trudged after him, each of them shooting Merlin strange looks from time to time as they moved through the forest. Soon the sound of running water filtered its way through the noise of wildlife and rustling trees, pulling them towards a small stream that cut through a rather small clearing. The surrounding trees stopped inwards, creating a canopy which stained the sunlight a misty green. Surprisingly Arthur helped to set up camp with the Knights, and only the cooking was left to Merlin, while Percival fed the horses and checked that the bridles were securely tied. Even Gwaine fell silent, a look of deep concentration etched across his face.

"I think I know which story you meant now." He piped up, turning to face Arthur.

"Forget it Gwaine, there is no truth in it anyway." Arthur told him, not looking up from the fire that they were now all sat around, the remains of Merlin's stew haunting the bottom of the cooking pot.

"It's still a good story." Gwaine shrugged, "And it's not like anyone else is feeling talkative tonight."

"It might be a good thing to know why those men though they should go after Merlin, even if he isn't the person they were looking for." Chipped in Leon, agreeing with Gwaine, somewhat begrudgingly.

Grumbling slightly Arthur gave in, nodding to Gwaine to tell him that he could start the story, and leaning back against one of the logs to listen.

"I was in this tavern one night," Gwaine told them all, leaning forward as he spoke, enjoying the way they were all focused on him.

"And there was this old guy sat by the fire, just staring into the flames with all these men gathered around him, not saying anything. Anyway, I went to see what they were all up to and the old man just started talking.

He said that Uther thought all of the dragons were dead because there were none left in the land, but there are great Kingdoms far beyond the reaches of these shores, oceans too great to be crossed by most ships. For a dragon however, these distances offer no challenge what so ever."

"Like I said" interrupted Arthur, "a fairy tale." The knights shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to admit they were rather intrigued by the story.

"As I was saying." Gwaine continued. "This old guy was convinced that Dragons still existed in great numbers, hiding away in an island kingdom called Canicus."

"I'm sorry." Elyan butted in, "What has this got to do with Merlin being targeted by some crazy bandit, who can't tell the difference between reality and make believe."

"I'm getting to that!" Gwaine muttered impatiently, "You need to hear the background to understand the characters."

The knights shot Arthur a sceptical look, but returned their gaze to Gwaine when the King gave a shrug that very clearly said to shut up and just let Gwaine get the story out of his system.

"Canicus was also the home of the Dragon Lords." Gwaine informed them, noticing Merlin tense slightly at the title, but not really thinking much of it since Merlin had a tendency to act strangely as a matter of normality.

"There are supposed to be eleven families of Dragon Lords, and each generation a new Dragon Lord is born, ready to inherit his powers on his father's death. They were ruled over by the first family of Dragon Lords, who were called Fraener, but then Uther came along and started the great purge, and during the years of battle between Camelot and magic that followed the King of the Dragon Lords was killed.

When Uther claimed he wanted to make peace, the King's window sent her only son to Camelot as her ambassador,"

"You mean Balinor!" Merlin yelped, his eyes wide with shock, "Balinor was royalty!"

"It's just a story Merlin." Arthur laughed, "Balinor was no more royal than you are."

Scowling at being interrupted again, Gwaine paused before continuing.

"We all know what happened between Uther and Balinor, and that Balinor somehow escaped and vanished for years. At some point though, during the time between the Great Dragon's imprisonment, and its escape, a woman arrived in Canicus, carrying the Dragon Lord's unborn son."

Gwaine saw Merlin flinch more noticeably this time, the servant's hands curled into tight fists so that his knuckles were turning white.

"When the child was born there were celebrations, since there was once again a clear heir to the throne and the next generation of Dragon Lords was secured. However, Balinor's younger brother saw the child as the future of war against Camelot. The babe's mother overheard Balinor's brother speaking of how the child would one day be the perfect warrior to lead an attack on Camelot, that he could be shaped perfectly to hate the Pendragons and avenge his father. The woman did not want this for her son and feared what she had brought him into.

The next day the babe's mother locked herself and her son away in her chambers, claiming they had both fallen gravely ill and only allowing her most loyal lady in waiting to see to her.

Two weeks later they found the chambers empty, and the woman gone as well as her son. Guards were sent out to search for her but they found to sign, until the fourth day when one stumbled across the woman slumped against a small mound of stones. When she was brought back to the castle, and the babe was not with her, it became clear that the grave was that of Balinor's son. The sickness had spared the mother but taken the child."

Gwaine ended, and the hunting party remained silent.

"If the child died." Merlin said, "Why do they think that I was part of this family."

Gwaine offered Merlin a small smile, seeing the strained look across the boy's features, the servant never did cope well with other people's suffering.

"Some people think it was all a ruse. That there was no sickness, that she sent the child away with her lady in waiting and the grave is in fact empty."

"It's all rubbish though." Arthur assured him, "The bandits were fools to believe it."

"What if others do?" Merlin asked nervously.

"They won't." Arthur stated confidently, closing his eyes and preparing to go to sleep.

"If it were true though…" Merlin whispered to himself, trailing off. He shook his head forcefully, refusing to think of the implications such a reality would bring. Tomorrow he would be back in Camelot and he could forget the whole stupid thing.

"Merlin." Arthur barked, just as the servant lay down.

"Yes?"

"Wash that pot up! We don't want anything creeping up on us in the night because you left food lying around."

"Yes Sire." The servant grumbled. If he were royalty, he thought, it would at least make for a fantastic reaction off Arthur.

_**Updated 19/11/2012**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters.**

Chapter Three

The noise of celebrations from the feasting hall was little more than a dull rumble by the time it reached Kaida's chambers, seeping into the room as little more than a dull hum. Half asleep she leant back against her headboard, the book she had been toying with, lying forgotten on the sheets, its pages splayed open beneath her hand. The migraine still lingers, not strong enough to bother her too much, but enough to make her feel lazy and crave the depths of completely dreamless sleep.

"_The grave smells of dirt and stone."_

Kaida cursed, Imogene's words twisting themselves back into her mind just as she was about to fall asleep. The wolf pelt rug by the fire growled, lifting its head and fixing her with an amber stare, proving itself to be very much alive.

"Did I wake you Hemlock?" she teased, patting the covers beside her and grinning as the wolf hauled itself to its paws, only to leap onto the bed and curl up next to her. The creature let out a huff, almost as if to affirm that she had awoken him, but it wasn't something that he couldn't live with.

He nuzzled her ribs and then dropped his snout onto her stomach. Kaida twisted her fingers into his ruff, braiding the fur between her digits while mulling over the impromptu riddle she'd received from her cryptic dragon.

"Do you think it's possible?" she asked, looking down at Hemlock who was staring right back. The wolf blinked, but apart from that, made no indication to an opinion on the matter.

Hemlock had been her Uncle's gift to her brother just after his birth. A five-year-old at the time, she could remember sitting by the crib, the babe watching her with curious blue eyes, his pudgy fist stuck in his mouth after the discovery of its existence that morning. The doors swept inwards, their hinges oiled and greased at this time, allowing her Uncle into the room where Kaida's small family were sat.

She had counted Eleanor as family once. Kaida supposed it was because her father had gone and her mother was always an unknown entity, as a young girl it was natural that she should have latched onto Eleanor as a parental figure. She had given Kaida someone to look after, a brother who she adored from the moment of his birth and never wanted to let go of. Still unnamed, Kaida had allowed herself to grow attached to the tiny scrap of flesh, the first few hairs of dark raven hair beginning to show.

Her Uncle had strode into the room, his cloak sodden with rain, and his hair plastered to his scalp by the storm which raged outside. He stopped beside the crib, giving Kaida a fond pat on the head, which was returned with a scowl, and reaching inside his cloak to remove the present he had brought his nephew.

The wolf cub had whimpered and squirmed in his bulky grip, snapping at her Uncle's fingers as he dumped the animal in the crib beside her brother. Eleanor screeched when she saw the creature, leaping from her seat beside the window and spilling her sewing onto the floor, dashing to remove the cub from her child's bed.

Instead of savaging the child, the wolf cub quietened next to the babe, and nuzzled the palm of the child's outstretched hand with what could only be called affection. Yawning, the animal curled up next to her brother and fell asleep, comfortable in the warm room next to a child that he had just met and bonded to immediately.

Hemlock had been her Uncle's, though the wolf never answered if her Uncle did called. It became clear that Hemlock hated the man, no doubt since it had been her Uncle who slaughter the cub's mother and snatched him from the forest to become a pet. Kaida had found that anyone apart from herself, or Eleanor, was treated with the utmost suspicion by the wolf. She had always thought the creature a wonderful judge of character.

After her brother's death the young wolf became so morose and miserable, the whole castle thought that the creature was sure to die. Despite the grief never seeming to really pass, he did survive, and over the years grew into a strong, powerful creature whose presence meant that Kaida's Uncle avoided her chambers at all costs.

One noble's son had once called Hemlock _her_ wolf, resulting in the boy receiving a firsthand experience of Kaida's temper, and the warning to never refer to Hemlock as Kaida's possession ever again. Hemlock belonged to her brother if anyone, and the child's death left the creature free.

Hemlock growled beside her, his head lifting from her stomach as he fixed his amber gaze on the door.

"Come in." Kaida called, covering the book she'd abandoned, thinking that it wouldn't do to be caught reading when she was supposedly laid up with a migraine.

"Kaida?" Erin's head poked around the doorway, throwing a nervous glance in Hemlock's direction before edging into the room. The wolf's growling deepened.

"Hemlock." Kaida chastised, only half meaning it. "Don't scare him."

The rumble ceased, yet Hemlock kept his gaze firmly fixed on Erin, not allowing the boy to move an inch before his gaze followed.

"What do you want Erin?" Kaida asked, bringing her hand to her head as if in pain.

"_I sent him away!"_

"_It smells or dirt and stone."_

She flinched as the words flashed across her mind, almost as if someone had yelled them inside of her head.

The words meant something, but if they did, and her suspicions were right, then it meant that she had spent twenty three years mourning a living person.

"It's about Eleanor." Erin said, attempting to move closed to the bed while staying as far away from Hemlock as possible. "I think she may be telling the truth."

Kaida's eyebrow rose slightly as his words, they made sense, fitting with her own thoughts, but for Erin to doubt what he'd been told by his elders—

Kaida did her best not to grin.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, trying to sound sceptically, "her mental health is not the most reliable, should you really take anything she say's seriously?"

A little heat flushed Erin's cheeks as he shuffled his feet at the corner of her bed, one hand resting against the bed post and the other on his hip. He was nervous, trying not to let on how much Kaida's opinion meant to him.

"It just seems strange." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Everything!" he cried exasperated, throwing his arms into the arm and stalking away from her before looping back on himself only to freeze quickly as he caught sight of Hemlock again.

"He won't bite." she chuckled, watching the colour drain from his face.

"You're s…sure." Erin stuttered, trying to put the bed between himself and the wolf.

"Almost certain." Kaida chirped.

"Almost!" he squeaked, before catching sight of her grin and relaxing slightly.

"So what is so weird?" she prompted, re-settling herself against the mountain of pillows stacked behind her.

"Him." Erin said, nodding towards Hemlock. "How old is he?"

Kaida blinked, momentarily stunned by the question. She had never thought of Hemlock's age.

"And he is showing no signs of growing old or dying." Erin continued.

Frowning, Kaida cast a glance over the animal, noticing for the first time that his age didn't really show at all.

"There are all these legends." Erin persisted, "About wolves which bond with certain humans, and they age at the same rate, only dying when the other does."

"And…" Kaida said, still unsure of where he was going.

"I think that happened between Hemlock and your brother!"

"Uh huh." she said, the doubt in her voice real now. "You think that my brother is still alive, and magically linked to the wolf lying on my bed?"

"Uh— I— Well yes." Erin said, a little embarrassment creeping in. "Just Listen to me!" begged Erin, circling around the bed and grabbing her wrists. "The lady in waiting to Eleanor when your brother was born, she was supposedly killed by the same illness which took your brother right?"

Kaida nodded mutely, remembering her Uncle telling her so, and warning her from speaking to Eleanor about it, in case it upset her.

"There is no grave!" Erin exclaimed, "No burial, no sign of any body anywhere! I looked. There is no record of her, or your brother falling sick in the physician's record, no medicine given and no confirmation of death for either one. Today Eleanor said she sent her child away, what if she sent him with her most trusted servant!"

"Why though!" Kaida spluttered, yanking her wrists away from his grasp. "It makes no sense!"

"Maybe she thought that he would be in danger here. Perhaps Eleanor thought that she was keeping him safe."

Shaking her head fiercely she leapt off the bed, moving across the room towards the doors.

"Where are you going?" Erin called, watching the door swing open and her stalk through the open doorway.

"To speak to Eleanor!" she replied.

The door slammed shut on any response from Erin, but the familiar groan of old hinges and the patter of running footsteps let her know that he was hurrying to catch up with her.

Kaida darted through the castle, using the passageways and corridors that she knew few would ever use, sailing past the dungeon guards who barely even gave her a second glance, despite her night clothes, but threw Erin looks of pity when they saw him pattering after her.

Kaida found herself wanting to laugh, the bitter humour itching her throat and making her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Even the prison guards pitied my family, just for their relation to me.

They had thrown Eleanor in a cell, adding a cot for comfort and a few ragged rugs to help with the cold. She still lay their shivering, wide eyed and unseeing.

"Eleanor." Kaida called, peering through the bars and noting that she made no response. "Probably drugged to Avalon and back." she muttered darkly, recalling the vile potions that her Uncle ordered the castle physician to force down the poor woman's throat.

"Here." Erin said, passing her the key to the cell, shrugging at her mildly impressed look. It was rare that Kaida missed a thief at work.

The lock clicked open easily, testament to how often her Uncle had Eleanor thrown into the cells, and how common these bouts of 'madness' were. Perching on the edge of the bed Kaida looked down at her, noticing the tear tracks down her cheeks and the way she stared at the wall opposite, eyes wide open, but all her old fire gone from them. Only the rise and fall of her chest to let anyone know she was still alive.

Her arm lay awkwardly next to her, her nails torn and bloody.

"She must have fought." Kaida commented, picking up the hand and examining her finger tips.

"No." Erin said softly, "Look."

He pointed to where a small smear of blood was across the wooden side of the bed, one word scratched into the soft pine next to it.

"Ealdor?" Kaida whispered, throwing Erin a confused stare.

"A tiny village at the edge of what was Cenred's kingdoms, near the border with Camelot."

"Camelot!" she yelped, "Eleanor would send a child so close to the man who would kill anything that vaguely resembles magic?"

"Kaida!" Erin scolded, glancing pointedly in Eleanor's direction.

"Oh she's too far gone to even realise if the Great Dragon itself was standing over her!"

Erin scowled at the remark.

"Kaida, there was a reason she would have sent her child away, and if she thought he was safer near Uther, than this castle, what does that tell you!"

Kaida felt ice coil in her gut, weaving itself into her spin until her whole body tingled with the unpleasant frozen feeling.

"Oh this is really, really bad." she murmured.

_**Updated 19/11/2012**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters.**

Chapter Four

Kaida felt her insides twist uncomfortably, a deep seated ache reminding her of the distance she was putting between herself and Imogene. At full gallop, she could almost forget the gnawing feeling; focusing on twisted forest track beneath her horse's feet instead. Erin galloped beside her, his saddle-bag straining at the seams, the entire castle's collection of mainland maps seemingly now within his possession.

They stopped at a small stream, allowing the horses to drink and raiding their supplies for something to eat themselves. Erin checked one of the maps; its edges were tattered from years of use and then neglect. Pinning it down with a rock on each corner, he poured over the parchment, tracing the faint lines of ink as his mouth silently formed the words scribbled on the parchment below him.

Kaida kept her eyes on the forest, seeing past the coppery leaves and the last remains of summer foliage. She watched for movement, turning in a slow circle as she listened intently for any sound that may precede an attack and keeping her hand firmly on the pommel of her sword.

"We'll need to pass through Camelot." Erin said, his face crumpling into a frown as he quickly re-calculated the route he's picked, only to find once again, that it was the only viable option. He scrubbed a sleeve across his forehead before looking up at Kaida.

"Can't we just pass around it?" she asked, her shoulders fixed firmly as she continued to watch the forest around them. Internally she shuddered, her Uncle's tales of burnings within Camelot's courtyard clambering in the distance of her memory, the city would be no friend to those of Dragon kin.

"If we pass around it we'll run out of food before we reach Ealdor." Erin said. "Hunting would take up time we don't have and there are no other villages or towns we can stock up at."

He rolled the map up again and put it back in his saddle-bag, wrestling with the buckle momentarily before the strap conceded defeat. The bay stallion let out a small snort as Erin swung himself back into the saddle, pulling the reigns to the side and digging his heels' into the bay's flanks. Kaida followed suit, maintaining her grip on the sword pommel as she leap lithely into her saddle, clicking her tongue to make her dappled grey follow.

Kaida could see the tension building in Erin's form; his movements too jerky to be natural. She couldn't blame him she supposed, he wasn't use to sneaking around and keeping secrets from his father. Kaida on the other hand, felt that the more she kept from her Uncle the better.

No one back in Canicus knew where the pair had gone, swallowing a story that Erin wished to study the creatures that lived in the mountains to the south, omitting any specific dates or times from their story, claiming that it was impossible to set limits on such sciences.

The forest had begun to thin, melting into green, grassy banks which swelled and dipped, leading towards the towering white pillars of Camelot. They made their way through the lower town unnoticed, Kaida pulling the hood of her travelling cloak further down over her features, hoping to pass for a young man. Pretending to be male served two purposes, firstly it allowed her to more around with relative ease, her actions raising less suspicion, and secondly it made travelling somewhat safer.

Kaida set her sights on the creaking tavern sign, 'The Rising Sun', a squat, little building set back into the cottages. Pulling up outside the tavern she jumped from her saddle, stumbling slightly on the cobbled street and catching herself with her horse's bridle. She caught Erin sniggering behind her.

"My muscles are stiff." she hissed, stretching her back and hearing it pop satisfyingly. She made sure she kept her hood obscuring her features, returning to a normal stance as soon as she'd work out some of the kinks from her spine.

"I believe you." Erin grinned, dismounting himself and holding his hand out for her reigns. "It would be unthinkable for you to simply have a clumsy moment, wouldn't it now?"

Scowling she threw her reigns at him, ignoring his chuckles as she stalked off amongst the crowd, leaving him to sort everything else out.

"Where are you going?" he yelled, trying to keep sight of her back as she moved away from him, disappearing into the crowds towards the citadel.

"I need to stretch my legs!" she snapped.

There was no flurry of footsteps following her, just the chatter of peasants mulling around her, gawking at the market stalls which lined the streets. It was very similar to Canicus in many ways Kaida though, no matter which kingdom you visited, peasants always seemed to be the same.

Relaxing slightly she allowed the crowds to steer her, following the general current, her hand on her sword once more, though her cloak kept the weapon from view. The screams started just as the castle gates came into view.

Kaida had her sword drawn by the time she'd turned, spotting the knights flooding into the street as peasants ran in all directions, screaming as a large grey wolf meandered up towards the citadel.

"HEMLOCK!" The knight's froze as Kaida's voice bellowed down the street. The wolf paused as well, his head tilting to one side and his long pink tongue drooping out of his maw to hang there. Kaida knew the expression well; he'd given the same one the day he'd chewed her favourite slippers.

"This wolf is yours?" asked one of the knights, indicating to Hemlock with his sword. The other knights were still stood ready to attack, their swords surrounding Hemlock in a circle. Kaida let out a low whistle, sending Hemlock bounding towards her, stopping to sit by her feet.

She scowled at the knight who had spoken to her, noticing something familiar in his face, his eyes glittering mischievously beneath the mop of brown hair. Her hair was tied back under a scarf, and the hood she was wearing hid most of her face, the knight must flirt with everyone she decided.

"He belonged to a friend." she said, attempting to make her voice deeper, hoping it was convincing.

The knight nodded.

"Well I suggest you keep a closer eye on him." He warned, sliding his sword back into its sheath and waving the rest of the guards away. "We wouldn't want a panic now."

Kaida nodded stiffly and twisting her fingers into Hemlock's ruff as she watched the knight disappear after the others.

"Are you trying to get Erin and I arrested." she whispered, the wolf shifting beneath her hand. "I don't even know what you think you're doing here." she hissed.

The wolf seemed to almost shrug. Kaida tutted, letting out another low whistle before resuming her walk, Hemlock walking beside her with her hand resting on the scruff of his neck.

There were wary looks from the people around her. They whispered and pointed, making Kaida wonder if she might have attracted less attention if she had simply shown up as a female on her own.

They passed into the main courtyard, Kaida deftly ignoring the stares of the guards, keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead. Her attention was distracted by noble hurrying down the steps from the castle, advancing on a serving boy who was carrying water back across the courtyard.

"Exactly what do you call this _Mer_lin?" the noble demanded, waving a chunk of armour in front of the servant face.

"A breast plate sire." The servant replied, a sarcastic lilt to his voice.

Kaida snorted, leaning back against wall just beside the gates. Hemlock lay next to her feet, both of them watching the performance taking place.

"I know that _Mer_lin! But why has it not been cleaned!"

"I wouldn't know sire." The servant said with a grin, "Perhaps the cleaning fairies decided they had other matters to attend to."

Kaida frowned at the noble; blond hair and well toned. It clicked quickly; the servant's master was Prince Arthur, Uther's son! Her blood ran cold, and the urge to bolt surged through her muscles. She stepped forward, planning on heading back out through the gate.

Hemlock lifted his head, his nose raised and sniffing at the air around him.

"Hemlock?" Kaida hissed, reaching for his ruff.

She missed completely, Hemlock sprinting off across the courtyard before her fingers even brushed his fur. Pushing off on his back legs he leapt at the serving boy, flattening him to the ground and covering the boy's face in slobber.

The prince stumbled back, shock written across his face.

"Guards!" He roared, reaching for his sword.

"Wait!" Kaida screamed, most of the way across the courtyard by this point. "He's harmless."

The courtyard was already filling with guards and knights, the knight from earlier sweeping in, one eyebrow lifting as he saw the Kaida again.

"I thought I told you to keep a closer eye on your wolf."

One of the other knights looked at him.

"You know this boy?" The second knight looked from the first, running his eyes over Kaida. They widened. "My apologies miss." he said.

She winced, obviously her disguise had not be effective as she thought.

"Hemlock." she hissed, expecting the wolf to leave the poor serving boy alone and come back to her. Instead the creature simply looked up and moved off the servant, sitting down beside the boy. The boy was still on his back, laughing breathlessly as one of the knights stepped forward to help him to his feet.

He regained his breath and squatted next to the wolf.

"Hemlock? As in the poison." he asked, scratching the wolf behind the ear. He ran a sleeve over his face to clear away most of Hemlock's saliva.

"I guess." Kaida muttered, confused by the current goings on.

"Hello Hemlock." The boy said cheerfully, holding out a hand to the wolf. With a short bark Hemlock placed his own paw in the servant's palm. Hemlock's tongue lolled again as the boy laughed, shaking the wolf's paw before letting the creature have it back.

"Stop playing with other peoples' pets Merlin." Arthur snapped, approaching the pair and earning a low growl. "Very harmless." He scowled.

"Clot pole!" Merlin snorted, rising to his feet as Hemlock sniffed around his legs and nuzzled at his side. "He's fine see."

Obviously not willing to test Merlin's theory Arthur didn't try to touch the wolf again. Standing off from them Kaida stared at the boy. She swallowed heavily, the puzzle pieces in her mind slowly clicking into place as she worked out what Hemlock's reaction could mean.

"Merlin." The boy stated, holding out a hand towards her, causing her to blink rapidly as her trail of thought suddenly snapped.

"Kaida." she replied, managing to smile and pulling the hood back off her face. She heard the intake of breath that went around the guards but didn't blush.

"You're new in Camelot." Merlin grinned, stoking Hemlock but keeping his gaze set on Kaida. Arthur and the knights watched, their expressions slightly dazed as Merlin conversed easily with the beautiful girl and her wolf.

"I'm just passing through." she said, her gaze falling to Hemlock before returning to Merlin.

"Well if you want anyone to show you around while you're here I'd be happy to help." Merlin offered.

Kaida opened her mouth to respond, only for the figure who hurried through the gateway to interrupt her.

"Kaida?" Erin called, slowing to a stop not far away, watching Arthur wearily.

"I have to go." she said, offering Arthur she shallowest bow she could manage. "My Lord."

"Oh ." Merlin said, sounding put out. "Well I'll see you around possibly, or if you need anything you can ask for me in the physician's chambers. Gaius generally can say where I am."

Hemlock whimpered next to Merlin. Kaida looked at him for a moment before giving in.

"I'm not sure the place I'm staying will want him hanging around." she said, jerking her head towards Hemlock. "Could you perhaps hang onto him for a bit, he seems quite attached already?"

Merlin's grin widened, but a flicker of worry flew across underneath.

"Oh I don't want to take him away from you!" He spluttered, "He is yours."

Kaida shook her head.

"He was a gift to my brother, but after his death Hemlock seemed to attach himself to me." She said, noticing the pity that Merlin looked at her with. "Hemlock does as he pleases and picks who he wants when he wants."

Before Merlin could answer, Kaida was leaving, walking off with the stranger who'd come looking for her. She ignored the flirtatious look she received off knight number one as she'd dubbed him, instead focusing on tuning out Erin's tirade as he loosed his fury.

"What were you thinking!" he demanded one they had closed the door to their room in the 'Rising Sun'. "You brought Hemlock along?"

"He followed me!" she said calmly, dropping down onto one of the beds and staring up at the ceiling. "I didn't bring him along by choice."

"Yet you set him on the King's manservant!"

"Hemlock sort of just leapt at him and what do you mean by King's manservant?" she asked, crossing her arms behind her head.

"King Arthur!" Erin hissed. "You announced your presence to the King and most of his Knight."

Kaida made no move to say she had heard him, though Erin thought her face may have lost a little colour.

"I think I found him." she said softly.

"What?" Erin asked, frowning at her, "found who exactly?"

"Merlin." She laughed humourlessly. "Hemlock was acting as if Merlin was the most important person in the world. As if no one else mattered, as if I didn't matter."

She laughed again.

"Are you sure?" Erin asked, sitting on the bed next to her, his hand hovering as he debated reaching out to comfort her. He decided against it.

She lifted her head to look at Erin, tears glistening on her cheeks. Kaida never cried, Erin had never seen her cry once, yet there were tears on her face now.

"It's him." she whispered. "I'm certain."

Outside their door, unknown to both Kaida and Erin, a short wheezing man crouched with his ear pressed to the wood. He knew who they were. His master had sent him to follow them as soon as he recognised Dragon Lord blood passing over the borders.

A crooked yellow smile twisted his features, the news of a Dragon Lord living in Camelot reaching his ears. Better still, an untrained Dragon Lord! One that his master would be very much interested in.

_**Updated – 21/11/12**_


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters. **

Chapter Five

Kaida felt more at home in the treetops, the ground far beneath her feet and the heat of the sun warming her bare shoulders. It wasn't quite the same as flying; she could never find anything to match the breathlessness that came with soaring on Imogene's back, but up amongst the treetops she was more comfortable she'd been in days.

But the argument she'd had with Erin still rang in her head, souring the peace.

"_Because that will really work!" she'd sneered, staring at the ceiling of their dingy little room. _

"_We have to do something!" Erin snapped back, leaping to his feet. Kaida had wished she'd never mentioned Merlin at all, Erin seemed convinced that they had to convince him to leave with them at once._

_Storming towards the door Erin grabbed hold of the door handle, yanking it sharply towards him. There was a loud crack followed by the patter of nails hitting the floor. "Oh for…! Erin swore, unable to find any other way of finishing his sentence._

"_Well done." Kaida snorted, still not moving from her position on the bed. "See if you can break the windows next."_

"_I'm so glad that you can laugh! It's your brother that's trapped in Camelot!" _

_Leaping from the bed Kaida was across the room before Erin had the chance to react. His eyes widened, his mouth forming a small 'o' shape as he found her hands bunched in the fabric of his shirt, her face centimetres from his own._

"_He's not trapped." she snarled, "He's chosen his life; we cannot charge in there and tear apart everything that he has ever known!"_

Something in those words had struck Erin, and Kaida managed to convince him that staying away from Merlin was the best plan, at least for now. She'd left him in their room, sullenly studying the maps again.

Kaida crouched on her branch, examining the track beneath her and waiting. The thunder of hoof beats came into hearing, and soon enough a Camelot patrol raced beneath her, the King at the head and Merlin close behind.

She took off in the same direction, leaping from one tree to the next in order to keep up. Being the daughter of a dragon lord had it's perks. Kaida was faster than most, more agile and a superb natural fighter. From what she had heard about Merlin, he was none of these things, which made her wonder how such common dragon lord traits had passed him by.

She slowed to a halt, noticing that the horses beneath her had been pulled up by their riders, the knight dismounting.

She crouched down on a branch about fifty feet above the ground, watching as Arthur knelt down, searching for something in the mulching leaves below his feet.

"We're close." He said, returning to his feet and mounting his horse again. The patrol's pace was swifter this time and Kaida found herself panting for breath as she leapt from tree to tree, her hands slick with sweat and lichen. She knew that she couldn't afford to leave Merlin alone, even with Hemlock by his side, she had grown increasingly uneasy.

In little under a week, Kaida had committed every alley and street in Camelot to memory. Sneaking into the castle at night to find out guard shifts and duties. All in all, she was as close to an expert on Camelot, as anyone could be.

Two days in to her stay, she had spotted Arthur sneaking Hemlock the kitchen's finest cuts of meat. The King had smirked in triumph as he found himself able to approach his manservant for the first time since the wolf's arrival. If Arthur had been any sort of threat, it wouldn't have mattered how much food he bribed Hemlock with; the wolf would have ended up sat on the King's chest ready to rip out his royal throat. Kaida could see how well Hemlock was playing Arthur, though she wasn't about to tell the King that he was being outsmarted by a wolf.

She didn't hear the first arrow, she realised the knights were under attack once the bandits had leapt from the undergrowth. She cursed, already railing against herself for letting her guard down. The sound of steel against steel sent even those thoughts from her mind, and Kaida notched her first arrow, letting it fly into the chest of a scabby, little man.

The Knight who had just avoided being stabbed in the back by the scabby, little man turned around, Gwaine's slightly bemused eyes scanning the treetops before becoming preoccupied with another opponent.

The knights were outnumbered, the bandits surprisingly well armed and appearing out of the undergrowth in what appeared to be endless numbers. Kaida lost sight of Merlin in the fray, her quiver soon emptied and the knights below managing to cut down the last attacker. None of them seemed to have been injured too badly, thought Kaida couldn't seem to find her brother of Hemlock among them.

"Merlin!"

Kaida felt the word slow down as she heard Arthur yell, panic lacing his voice. She forgot about the fact that each of the knights would be armed, and that their nerves were probably jangled from the surprise attack. None of this mattered as she uncoiled a length of rope from around her waist and looped it around the branch above her, using it to drop quickly to the ground below.

Gwaine shot back in shock as Kaida landed beside him, her knees bending neatly, allowing her to sprint across to Merlin seconds after she hit the forest floor.

"No, no, no!" she chanted, dropping to her knees beside Merlin and skimming her hands over his torso. They came away red with fresh blood.

"What the…" Arthur gawked at the girl who had appeared from nowhere, her hands moving quickly as they tried to staunch the blood flowing from Merlin's abdomen.

"Shut up Arthur." she snapped, grabbing hold of his hands. "Here, keep pressure on the wound!" she placed the King's hands over Merlin's wound, leaning back on her haunches as she thought about what to do next. None of the knights mentioned the bloody streaks she left across her forehead as she brushed aside a few stray strands of hair.

Arthur kept his hands where she'd told him to, his skin turning a faint green as he felt the warmth of Merlin's blood seeping between his fingers. Merlin had quickly turned grey, his skin glistening with sweat and his eyes closed as if peacefully asleep.

The wound was not purposeful; a slice straight across his stomach, too raged and oddly placed to have been aimed.

"One of the bandits must have caught him by accident." Kaida muttered to herself. She glanced up at the knights. "What are you lot doing!" she barked, "Get some water! Bandages! Do something!"

As if waking from a dream, the men snapped to attention, swords either being stabbed into the ground or returned to sheaths.

"Who exactly are you?" Arthur asked, looking distinctly sick himself.

"Please do not vomit." she said coldly, "I could really do without it."

She received a harsh glare, the slight green tinge to Arthur's skin refusing to recede.

The knights were back, Gwaine replacing Arthur and helping Kaida to clean the gash the best they could. His hands unusually skilful when it came to healing Kaida thought. Her thoughts must have shown on her face since he flashed an uneasy grin.

"You never know when some basic healing might come in useful." he shrugged.

The smile annoyed her, it was somehow familiar but she couldn't place a finger on exactly where she had seen it before.

"We need to get him back to Gaius." Arthur said, "He can ride with me, Gwaine you take…"

"Kaida." she reminded him, "And I don't need a ride, I'll keep up just fine."

"You are coming back with us then?" Gwaine asked, "Got to get back to your boyfriend I suppose." He was joking, trying not to think too deeply about Merlin possibly bleeding out beneath his hands.

"Cousin." Kaida said sharply, "Erin is my cousin on my mother's side of the family, not my boyfriend."

Gwaine looked up to apologise, Percival helping to lift Merlin, but Kaida had already vanished.

Kaida muttered to herself the entire way back, running over the scene from the attack in her head, wondering how she could have missed Merlin being hurt. Arthur's features were drawn tight, his grip reluctant to let go once they had made it back to Camelot.

The servants in the corridors multiplied at the sight of the knights carrying Merlin towards the physician's tower. Kaida's presence went mostly un-noticed as the hurtled through the corridors after the small band of knights helping carry Merlin.

The physician's quarters were the one area of the castle that Kaida had not snuck into in the past week, her nerves at running Merlin too fraught to risk a meeting.

She shivered at the look Gaius gave her, accusation and anger mixed into one before he simply blanked her and turned back to treating Merlin. Kaida knew he had recognised her. How she couldn't tell, but the physician knew who she was.

"Sire you need to report to the council." One of the knights said calmly, "There is nothing more you can do at the moment."

"I will report later Leon." Arthur replied, refusing to turn away from Merlin's bedside as Gaius stooped over the boy's mid-drift and peeled away the make-shift bandaged.

"This was done by someone very adept as treating wounds." He murmured, not looking up from his work. Kaida remained silent beside the open doorway.

"Will he be alright?" Arthur asked, attempting to sound off-hand.

"We shall see sire." The old man replied, sweeping over to one of the tales and rummaging around the content on top of it. "Only time will tell I'm afraid."

"Sire." Sir Leon repeated, edging closer to the King. Kaida watched Arthur's face crease with indecision, torn between his duty and his friend. Her heart lurched, throwing forward the idea that perhaps Arthur would be better than his father, she stamped the feeling down.

"Leave already!" she hissed. Arthur turning in shock as he heard her. "You're useless here! Gwaine and I might be able to help but the rest of you would be better reporting to your ridiculous council."

"Do not tell me what to do!" Arthur seethed, striding forward. "Just because you are able to wrap a few bandages does not give you the right to treat me any way you like! Merlin means something to Camelot, what could he possibly mean to you!"

Kaida bit her lip.

"Go on!" Arthur chided. "What happened between now and a week ago, when you were simply passing through?"

"It does not concern you." Kaida said, stepping back only to find her spine pressed against an unmoving wall.

"I am the King of Camelot." Arthur sneered. "And this concerns my manservant so you will explain yourself."

"It's complicated." Kaida said. "You could not possibly hope to understand!"

"Try me!" Arthur yelled, towering over her now. She could have punched him in the gut if it wasn't for his armour. Though there were numerous other moves she could pull to incapacitate the King.

Sucking in her breath Kaida evaluated her option.

"He's family." she said, closing her eyes. "He is my father's son, my brother."

She opened her eyes to find Arthur had stepped back, his expression unreadable.

"I knew it!" Gwaine crowed, laughter rolling off his tongue as Percival elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"Oi!" he cried, "Come on, you didn't lose that much!"

"Lose?" Kaida demanded, moving around Arthur and advancing on the good looking night. She cursed herself internally; it really wasn't the type to be judging how good looking the knight was, it wasn't as if—

Sneaking away from Canicus made up a significant portion of Kaida's time, so when she had ended up in a tavern along the mainland coast after a fight with her Uncle, it wasn't new. What was new was drinking herself stupid, and having the vague recollection of kissing a good looking rouge in the alley behind the tavern, before puking her guts up. Since then she had improved at drinking significantly, but she never worked out who she'd kissed.

"We bet what you would be is reference to Merlin." Gwaine explained, completely oblivious that Kaida had stopped listening. "Percival guessed that you were simply a stranger, but—"

Gwaine found himself facing ninety degrees to the left further, than he had been previously.

"I suppose this means that you've remembered." He muttered sheepishly.

"Yes." Kaida seethed, "Yes it does!"

Arthur glanced from Gwaine to Kaida and then back again.

"Care to explain." he asked, watching his uncomfortable knight and the fiery girl carefully.

"Council! Now!" she spat, not facing the confused King. There was a moment where Kaida thought Arthur would argue with her, but all she heard was footsteps and the click of a latch shutting. The room was empty except for herself, Gaius, Gwaine and the unconscious Merlin.

"You didn't exactly protest." Gwaine pointed out, his cheek still burning red.

"I was so drunk I cannot remember most of that night!" she spat. "You took advantage of that!"

"Well you can't re—"

"Enough!"

Both Kaida and Gwaine spun to face Gaius the old physician glaring at them. He fixed his sights of Kaida.

"And what do you think you are doing here?" He demanded. "Do you have any idea what this will do to Merlin when he finds out? Do you want to completely destroy the delicate balance that his who world exists upon?"

"I don't want to destroy it!" Kaida spluttered, quailing beneath Gaius' gaze. "I don't want to rip this life away from him, not if he's happy here."

"Then leave." Gaius said solemnly, "Leave Camelot immediately, before Merlin finds out who you are."

Kaida felt as if the world dropped away from beneath her.

"Please." she begged, "I just…"

"No." Gaius said, "Your family gave up any right to have anything to do with this boy years ago. That will not change now."

"Gauis." Gwaine tried, stepping forward, "She…"

"I said no!" Gaius snapped, raising his voice for a second time and earning silence once more.

Kaida nodded, turning her back on the patient's cot and her brother.

"Wait."

Kaida froze, Gaius turned to Merlin in shock and Gwaine gaped as his friend struggled to sit up. Grimacing as he did so.

"Don't go." Merlin's voice was firm, stronger than it should have been considering. "I want to know—" he broke off, wheezing for breath. "I want to know who you are."

Turning back to the bed, Kaida had time to smile before Merlin's vibrant blue eyes slipped closed again and he fell back into oblivion.

"I think that settles the matter." Gwaine stated coolly, "Merlin wants her to stay."

Gaius' lips formed a thin line, the old physician showing his displeasure at the turn of events but putting those thoughts aside in order to take care of Merlin.

The sound of a wolf howling broke through the tension, interrupted by short, deep barks coming up from the courtyard.

"Hemlock!" Kaida blurted out, sprinting towards the doors. She caught herself on the doorframe, glancing back at Merlin.

"We've got him covered." Gwaine reassured her.

She managed to smile, taking off down the stairs a moment later.

_**Updated 21/12/12**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Queen Annis glared in dislike at the cowering man in front of her. Her guards had found him skulking around the shadows of the outer walls of the castle, his short, squat body emitting infuriating little wheezing gasps. He'd been asked what his name was, but he'd simply shook his head and muttered something about a master, and needing to speak with the Queen. There was something about the snivelling little man that made her skin crawl.

"Speak then!" she barked, smilingly slightly when she saw the man flinched at her harsh tone.

"Your majesty." He simpered, bowing so low that his nose almost scraped across the ground. "I come to you on a matter of some urgency, and…" he trailed off, casting a look at the guards lining the walls around the room. "…delicacy." He finished, his final word petering out in a harsh wheezing breath.

"Oh really?" the Queen asked, leaning forward in her throne slightly, glad that there was still a good deal of distance between her and the man. "What matter would this be then?"

The man twisted his hands within one another, licking his lips and revealing two rows of rotting yellow teeth.

"It concerns your daughter milady."

Queen Annis froze, her hands automatically tightening on the arms of her throne as her fingers dug into the wood.

"My daughter!" she choked, her mind racing to images of a girl that she had lost so long ago lying with her throat cut in the rotting leaves of some forest, or buried in a shallow grave from succumbing to a peasant disease. "HOW DO YOU KNOW OF MY DAUGHTER YOU WRETCHED LITTLE MAN!" she screeched, leaping from her seat ready to fly at the man and run him through herself.

"ONLY WHAT MY MASTER TELLS ME!" the man cried, scrambling backwards as a few pitiful whimpers sounded from his lips.

"YOUR MASTER! YOUR MASTER!" Annis thundered, storming forward and grabbing hold of the man's shirt front, "WHAT DOES MASTER KNOW!"

"She lives!" the man cried, tears starting to leak from his bulging eyes.

Queen Annis dropped the sobbing man, allowing him to crumple into a heap at her feet.

"Where?" Annis hissed at him, towering over the cowering man, her voice cold as ice. "Where is my daughter?"

The man shook his head, his eyes fixed on the floor beneath him as his shoulders shook with fear.

"S…S…lives! That is all I know of her." He stammered,

"WHAT USE IT THAT TO ME!"

"I come not about her specifically." He begged, his fingernails scrabbling against the stone floor as he stumbled through his words, trying to pacify to rage consumed woman in front of her. She had lost her husband not too long ago, and he had unintentionally teased her with hope of finding the only blood she had left before seemingly ripping it away from her grasping hands.

"THEN WHY DO YOU COME HERE!" she snarled, resisting the urge to kick the snivelling wretch in the ribs.

"She had a son! She had a son!" he sobbed, wrapping his arms around his head and curling in on himself to avoid any blows that may come his way, his master's anger had taught him well to protect himself when he had the chance.

"A son." Queen Annis whispered, almost wistfully. Grabbing hold of the terrified messenger's arms she pulled him to his feet, griping him firmly and forcing him to look her in the eyes. "When?" she demanded.

"Twenty or so years ago." He gasped between heaving sobs, snot and tears mingling in a disgusting mess down his face and dripping onto his shirt. "She fled to the house of her lover's father while the babe was still in her belly."

Relinquishing her grip Queen Annis spun away, marching back towards her throne where she sat down heavily, her mind reeling.

"I have a grandson?" she asked softly, "A young man is out there with my blood in his veins, Caerleon's blood!"

She turned back to the man expectantly, her eyes pleading with him to confirm her words as if her very life depended on them being true. He offered her a small nod, scrubbing his sleeve across his face as he did so to try and clean some of the mess from his skin.

"READY THE GUARDS!" Queen Annis boomed, waving her hand at one of the soldiers standing to attention. "I WANT TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!"

Knowing better than to argue with the woman when she was so set on something the soldier sprinted away to do her biding, taking two more men with him as he left the room.

"Where will I find the boy?"

The grotty little man stared back at her blankly, her question seemingly unheard as he watched unseeing through his eyes.

"I SAID WHERE WILL I FIND MY GRANDSON?" she yelled her temper flaring.

The man whimpered and doubled over, clutching his head in his hands.

"No. No. No." he whispered, "Please! It hurts!"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?" The Queen demanded, watching as he began to convulse slightly, tears running afresh down his face. The episode passed as quickly as if had started but it took a short while for the man to straighten up, his shoulders still remaining hunched though as his hand caressed his neck cautiously. It was the same action that Queen Annis had seen many men do, men who had been condemned to the axe or the noose, dead men.

"You can find the boy in Camelot." He snivelled,

"Why is he in Camelot?" a hint of distress weaving its way into the Queen's words as she spoke, her blood ran cold. He had told her that her daughter had fled to the house of the child's father; surely he could not have meant the house of Pendragon!

"He knows not of his parentage, he is but a servant in the castle at Camelot."

"MY GRANDSON A SERVANT!"

"The King's manservant." The little man added.

"NO!"

It felt as if someone had taken a knife to her gut, Queen Annis watched the man cower away again, pain running through her as she thought of the dark haired boy who her guards had thrown down in front of her. The overly loyal servant who she had almost sentenced to death because he would even follow his master into an enemy camp, she had been willing to kill her own grandson.

"I didn't know." She moaned, "I did not know!" For a terrible moment grief threatened to overwhelm her.

"There is more milady." The man wheezed in a timid voice, his arms twitching ready to cover his face if she flew at him in rage.

"My master…he just said…he…he." His words spluttered out, terror turning his tongue to lead.

"SPIT IT OUT!"

"Theboywasinjuredtoday!" the man said in a rush, shrinking away as he watched the fury return to Queen Annis's features.

"WHAT!" she screamed, an iron band constricting around her heart as a love that she had long forgotten flared up for a boy she had met but once. It was strange how family could create such a powerful effect over a person's emotions.

"He is under the physician's care as we speak."

"No! I will fix this!" Pulling herself from her throne she strode towards the doors, the soldiers pulling them open for her without even a word passing her lips. A servant scampered towards her and wrapped a travelling cloak around her shoulders, following her as she headed towards the main courtyard where the soldier from earlier had assembled a travelling party for her.

"Send the faster messenger at our disposal!" Annis commanded, "Tell King Arthur of Camelot that I will be with him within a week, that I wish to discuss a matter of most urgent importance with him at once and that he would be doing a great service to receive me and help me with the matter swiftly." She didn't wait to see if her order had been followed; instead she mounted her stead and dug her heels into its flanks, spurring it onwards. Her soldiers would deal with the snivelling man.

The horses thundered out into the night, their hooves beating solidly against the ground as the Queen's part galloped out of the castle and towards Camelot. The thought that she had packed no clothes for the journey, or that she had no idea how long she would be staying in Camelot did not pass across Queen Annis's mind, instead she focused on the memory of Arthur's manservant, her grandson. Her daughter was still alive somewhere, but she had learnt long ago that she could not search forever for a child who hid so resentfully from her parents, and her husband's life had been ended without so much as a goodbye for her. A grandson was hope though, a male heir to her throne and the chance to quell some of the loneliness that had taken up home in her soul.

_**Yes, I have used Queen Annis for episode 4, I really loved her character and could not resist the chance to bring her into the fanfiction. I felt to sorry for her, and I she seemed like the sort of person who was capable of so much love, but was forced to face so much death and sorrow. Sort of like Merlin at times. I can't wait to write the scene where it dawns on Arthur that he basically murdered his best friend's grandfather, watched his best friend's father die and then said "no man is worth your tears" and called him a simple minded food in front of his grandmother. Also, Merlin is now heir to two kingdoms, a dragon Lord and an all powerful Warlock. Hehe, that is going to be so much fun when Arthur finds out that Merlin commands way more power (even just politically) than he ever has.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own any BBC Characters. **

Chapter Seven

Hemlock lay at the foot of Merlin's bed sulking. Kaida had sprinted into the main courtyard to find the animal attempting to take a bite out of Agravaine, Arthur's uncle. Agravaine seemed to have the same impact that Kaida's uncle had on the wolf; though Kaida had managed to extract the wolf from the situation without anyone losing any limbs. This of course, had led to Hemlock's sulking.

"So explain this to me again." Arthur said, resting his head in his hands as he tried to ward off the headache that was threatening at his temples. "You are Merlin's half sister on his father's side, but you can't tell me anything about the man himself?"

"I think that about covers it." Kaida replied, refusing to meet the King's eye as she leant against the wall on the opposite side of the room to him.

They were sat in Merlin's room, away from her brother and out of earshot of Gaius. The physician didn't want to try and move Merlin back into his own room until the boy had regained consciousness, or at least showed some significant improvement. A week had already passed since the attack, and Merlin's fever had only broken the previous evening.

"And you've been _where_ for the last the last twenty years?" Arthur asked, not one for skirting around a difficult topic.

"Around and about." Kaida yawned, resting her eyes for a moment.

"Around and about?" Arthur repeated.

"Here and there." she clarified.

"Then why did you decide to turn up in Camelot now?" he asked.

"I thought I already explained my family history." Kaida scowled, her eyes still closed. "My step-mother seems to have an aversion to the truth. As far as my family knows, Merlin died as a child."

"Why would let you think that?" Arthur's features creased, pity moulding them temporary.

Kaida shrugged, trying to avoid delving too deep into her rather unique family history. A lot of her and Merlin's heritage was better left alone.

"There has to be some reason!" Arthur frowned. He scowled down at Kaida, her being lower than him since he'd taken the only seat in the room as she was sat on the floor. "How did you find out that he was alive? Arthur asked, his tone losing some of its frustration.

"Dumb luck." Kaida admitted, opening her eyes as she realised she would have to be alert for this conversation.

Arthur's eyebrow quirked slightly, as he gave her a look which said that he did not believe her story.

"Hemlock found him really," she said. "Erin and I were supposed to be just passing through and well, it's meant to be something about Hemlock and Merlin specifically, they're sort of bonded."

"Bonded?" Arthur repeated slowly, his eyebrow moving even further up his forehead.

"I don't really understand the whole concept!" Kaida said, waving one hand as if to shoo his coming questions away. "Maybe it's scent, or a pack thing!" she suggested.

Arthur was clearly not buying into anything Kaida was saying, but it didn't push the Hemlock subject any further.

"Look." Kaida said. "I don't deal with all this mushy, family, feelings and emotions stuff. I rather you just throw me a sword and something to hit with it."

"There is no way that you can be Merlin sister." Arthur laughed, a smile forming on his face for once. "You throw Merlin a sword and he's most likely to impale himself on it."

Kaida snorted.

"So Merlin's mother?" Arthur asked, "If it's not really Hunith, then who is Merlin's mother?"

Kaida shook her head.

"I can't tell you." She said.

"Why not?" Arthur asked.

"Family issues." she replied. "A lot of family issues."

The sound of crashing suddenly erupted from the physician's chambers below, and the narrow staircase passage to Merlin's room filled with the sound of boots on stone.

"SIRE!" A guard seemingly threw himself through the door, catching his foot on the last step and landing sprawled across the floor at Kaida's feet. He scrambled up sheepishly, shying away slightly as she fixed him with a stony glare.

"My apologies milady." The guard muttered, seemingly forgetting whatever urgent reason had sent him flying for the King. His lower jaw seemed to detach slightly from the rest of his mouth as he gawked at Kaida. Granted, her outfit showed a few more curves that a dress would, and she'd been told that my appearance was somewhat striking at the most mundane of times, but it seemed ridiculous that this guard was actually struck dumb by her. She scowled at him, hoping he would take the hint and look away.

"You wanted the king." she prompted, her tone chilling as she attempted to soak each word with exactly how little she wanted to be in the mans presence. He wasn't even good looking.

"Um…." The guard stumbled for his words.

"Your message!" Kaida demanded, ignoring Arthur who was trying not to chuckle at her discomfort. She shot him a glare for good measure.

"Queen Annis." The guard spluttered, causing Arthur's complexion to turn ashen.

"She is marching on Camelot?" Arthur asked, his features creasing in confusion,

"No my lord," the guard said, "She wishes to speak with you, her messenger said it was of the upmost importance and she will be here before evening."

Arthur looked back over at Kaida, only to find that her eyes had glazed over and her attention was somewhere else completely.

"Oh crap." she muttered, her voice coming out more as a whine than anything else.

"What?" Arthur asked, watching her knuckles strain beneath the skin as she clenched her fists.

Her gaze cleared and she set her sights on him, her eyes blazing as she chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

"You remember when I said that there were family issues with Merlin's birth mother?" she asked, hesitating over her words.

"Yes…" Arthur replied, obviously unsure what any of this had to do with Queen Annis turning up.

"Well…" she said, mulling over how she was going to word what she was about to say next. "You may be about to see what those issues were exactly." Kaida explained, in her own cryptic way at least.

"Pardon?" Arthur said, nonplussed. "This has something to do with Queen Annis?"

Kaida nodded solemnly.

"Of course." Arthur chuckled, straightening up from his seat and motioning for the guard to leave. The King followed the guard, slipping out of the physician's room below before Kaida had a chance to say anything more.

Below, Gaius was hovering over Merlin; fussing about the fever that still lingered somewhat, even though it had supposedly broken a number of days ago. Kaida shuffled into the room, keeping as close to the wall as she could. It was clear that Gauis was struggling to warm to her, he kept her at an arm's distance as much as he could, refusing to interact with the girl if it was possible.

"I have to nip out." She told the physician, "I'll be back soon."

Guias gave no sign that he had heard him, keeping his head bent as he worked. Kaida hesitated, watching the physician and finding that as much as she needed to leave, she did not want to walk out of the door. The pale complexion of Merlin's skin seemed to ground her in place, yet at the same time he was the reason she was about to walk out of the door and throw herself into a world she barely understood. Even less, a world she cared for.

Pushing off from the wall she stalked out of the door, shutting it quietly behind her before hurrying down the steps and heading for the council chambers. She found Arthur inside.

"WHY DOES MY USELESS MANSERVANT GET INJURED JUST WHEN I NEED HIM?" Arthur roared, swinging around next to his throne, completely unprepared for Queen Annis to arrive. The words he'd just spoken caught up with him, and pain flickered across his face, leaving him to lean against the wooden throne, his hand gripping the wood tightly. He didn't see Kaida just inside the doorway.

Gwen chose that moment to enter the room, carrying Arthur a clean jacket and with Agravaine in tow. Kaida shuddered as Arthur's uncle brushed past her, her skin crawling at the feeling of his presence being so close.

"Queen Annis is at the main gate." Agravaine informed him. "She will be here in less than…"

The council chamber doors flew open, accompanied by the flurry of half-hearted trumpets as the Queen herself swept into the room.

"She's here already." Queen Annis announced, a woman who showed age but still carried herself with dignity, striding into the council chambers with two guards flanking her.

"Young King Arthur." She said formally, a strained smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, indicating that she was stressed and had slept little over the past few nights.

"Your majesty." Arthur and Agravaine both greeted, bowing deeply to the Queen as she stood before them, Gwen melting into the background, her role as a servant resumed completely.

"May I ask what brings about this visit?" Agravaine enquired, straightening up from his bow.

Queen Annis sat down on one of the chairs from the council table, seemingly grateful to rest for a moment.

"I would rather speak to Arthur alone." She replied, fixing Agravaine with a stare that told everyone in the room that she blamed her husband's death on him. Arthur may have struck the killing blow, but she had managed to learn that it was the Uncle's words which had twisted the young King's actions.

Kaida coughed slightly. She was uncomfortable in public situations normally, and now she was positively squirming as Queen Annis and Agravaine attempted to rage a silent war against each other.

"Of course." Arthur agreed quickly, paying his Uncle's slightly insulted expression no heed as he ushered everyone out of the room.

"Kaida?" He prompted, indicating towards the open door.

"Trust me." she said, "You want me here."

"Kaida…"

"You will lose in a fight against me." she warned him, watching as his face turned for carefully crafted calm to fighting to keep control as his pride took a hit. She crossed her arms across her chest, watching as he motioned to have the door shut and Agravaine furious face glared at her until the last gap was closed. Kaida had a feeling she would end up paying for her move later.

"Queen Annis." Arthur started. "Are you under threat? Do you require Camelot's help in some way?"

Kaida snorted, causing both monarchs to turn their attention to her.

"You have no idea!" she spluttered, Arthur's cluelessness and the complication of the situation making everything appear slightly more humorous than it actually was. "She's here to ask about Eleanor!"

Arthur looked at Kaida blankly, and Queen Annis' eyes widened, her mouth opening in a small 'O' shape as she looked at the strange young girl stood by the doors.

"Well you are." Kaida said, pouting slightly as the room remained silent.

"In a way." Queen Annis admitted, her focus now on Kaida instead of Arthur. "You know of my daughter?" she asked.

"Sort of." Kaida said, shrugging her shoulders and thinking back on the catatonic woman probably still down in the dungeons back in Canicus. "There are certain family ties."

"WAIT, WHAT!" Arthur exploded, "Have you two plotted this behind my back?" Arthur's face had turned red, an almost constant furrow of concentration between his eyebrows as he looked for Kaida to Queen Annis.

"It does sound..." Kaida trailed off. "Far-fetched." she said.

"Far-fetched?" Arthur spluttered. "I don't have the slightest what is even going on here!"

"I think I may be able to explain." Queen Annis cut in calmly. "Your serving boy, Merlin. There is a very good chance that he is the son of my daughter Eleanor. She and my husband never could see eye to eye, and in the end she simply left."

Arthur's face turned a very unusual colour, or more a series of unusual colours as it seemed uncertain which he wanted to settle on.

"Merlin is your grandson?" He breathed. "Your heir?"

The Queen nodded, her smile, this time, holding some real warmth.

"I…I…" Arthur trailed off, unable to find words to explain whatever it had been he was about to say. Instead he opted to simply walk out of the room, leaving Kaida standing with Queen Annis. The pair looked at each other, and Kaida tried to ignore the squirming feeling in her gut as she thought about the idea of how nicely Merlin's family seemed to be falling together.

"Well that could have gone better." Queen Annis said thoughtfully.

"It could have gone a lot worse." Kaida shrugged.

"What just happened?" Kaida turned to see Gwaine skid into the room. "Princess looks like someone just told him that he's two years behind the latest fashion trend." The Knight's eyes went wide as he noticed Queen Annis sat at the Council table.

"Your majesty." he said tightly, glancing at Kaida out of the corner of his eye.

"What is she doing here?" he hissed, Queen Annis unable to hear him as she left the room and was led up to the guest chambers.

Kaida shook her head.

"It's complicated." she told him. "And right now I do not have the energy or the information to really explain it all that well.

_**Updated 26/11/2012**_


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own any of the BBC Merlin Characters!**

Chapter Eight

Queen Annis felt her heart break a little as she walked into the Physician's chambers. Sir Gwaine had showed her the way, still confused as to why she was here and seemingly itching to be somewhere else. He seemed worried, the girl who had remained in the mattering between Arthur and herself had simply walked off, turned in the opposite direction that Arthur had taken and refused to even give a word of reply to the Knight's questions which flew after her.

A man that Queen Annis assumed must be the physician was stooping over her grandson; the lanky dark haired boy who she highly doubted had any idea about his parentage. Indeed, she only knew half the story but that would probably be enough to send the poor child's world crashing down around his ears. Except he wasn't really a child anymore, he was old enough to be heading out to war with the Prince of Camelot, and getting attacked in forests when his family were so far away. It stung at the old Queen that she had missed so much of her grandson's life; he would never even have the chance to meet his grandfather.

Gaius looked up to see her hovering nervously beside the door, Gwaine still standing just behind her.

"Your majesty." Gaius said respectfully, "I did not know there was visiting royalty in Camelot."

"How badly was he injured?" she asked, ignoring the physician's greeting as she swept into the room, attempting to hide the fear that was bubbling inside her. The boy looked so fragile where he was laid, the remnants of a fever just clinging onto Merlin's skin as he body attempted to heal.

"I beg your pardon?"Gaius stumbled, slightly thrown by the Queen's interest in his ward, "Do you mean Merlin?"

Descending gracefully into the seat next to the patient's bed Queen Annis placed the back of her hand against the boy's cheek, smiling slightly as she watched his head turn towards her and the cool skin.

"Who else would I mean?" she whispered, tracing the features of Merlin's face with her eyes, realising why he had seemed vaguely familiar that night in her tent, reflections of her husband and daughter evident in his looks.

"He had us worried your highness, but he is expected to make a full recovery."

Queen Annis nodded, keeping her sights focused on her grandson and each breath he took. It baffled her how she had not seen the resemblances in him before, perhaps even the blind loyalty that her daughter had possessed, the same loyalty that persuaded her to defend the ones she cared for no matter what the cost.

"May I enquire as to why you show an interest?" Gaius asked, trying to work out quite why such a fierce woman was sat beside Merlin, treating him as if he were her own kin.

"Does one not ask about family when they sustain an injury?" Queen Annis replied, resting back in her chair slightly. The boy before her was far too skinny; she would make sure that once he was back in Caerleon with her that he was well fed, she would go out of her way to see him taken care of.

"Family?" said Gaius, echoing her previous words, and voicing the question that Gwaine's current state of speechlessness refused to allow.

"My daughter obviously did not do the job she thought she had in hiding him." Queen Annis told the pair, brushing the hair from Merlin's forehead. "When will he be fit to travel?"

"TRAVEL!" Gwaine yelled, leaping forward into the room. "Why would he need to travel?"

"Well I can't very well leave him in Camelot can I?" explained Queen Annis, "I did not simply come all this way to look at my grandson; I intend to take him home."

Gwaine gawped at her as if she had just told him that Arthur was about to proclaim magic was legal in Camelot and his father was a fool to think it should have been banned.

"You can't!" The knight spluttered, "What about Arthur?"

"I'm sure that he will find another manservant." She said with a slight wave, as if to brush the matter away.

"He's Merlin's friend, he won't let you just take him!"

"I am the boy's grandmother! Arthur will have no grounds to argue with me!"

"Then his sister at least! Does she not get to have a say in this?"

"Sister?" Queen Annis asked, the vile little man had not told her there was a daughter also.

"Half sister your highness, on Merlin's father's side." Gauis explained, "And I'm afraid that I would want to see Merlin fully recovered before I even considered allowing him to leave Camelot."

Gwaine seemed about to add to the argument but Gauis threw him a look that clearly told him to shut up. A small groan pulled all their attentions back to the patient's bed though as Merlin stirred slightly, his eyelids fluttering as slowly he slipped into consciousness.

Merlin was aware that he should probably have been in a lot of pain but he wasn't, judging by the slightly lumpy bed beneath him he guessed that he was Gaius's quarters and the physician had given him something to block out the feeling. Cool fingers were carefully drifting across his face, similar to how his mother had sooth him as a child when he had fallen ill, but these hands were supple and lacked the calloused touch that years of hard work had given Hunith. The same reasoning also ruled out the hand belonging to Gwen and so Merlin found himself completely at a loss for who was beside him. Opening his eyes he felt a sudden jolt of panic. Queen Annis sitting so close to him that she was actually making contact. He wondered if she had changed her mind, attacked Camelot and had somehow won and now she was Queen here as well. Or was he perhaps in Careloen, at her castle, but it seemed strange that she would keep him alive or take such a personal interest.

"Wha-" Merlin tried to speak but his words cut out, his throat dry and sore and refusing to work properly. Trying again he felt as if something was stuck in his wind pipe, leading to a violent coughing fit that sent pain flaring across his middle. Someone held a cup to his lips, encouraging him to drink and he managed to drain the water without drowning on it. Sagging back exhausted he found himself resting against someone's shoulder, they had obviously sat him up to try and help him breath slightly easier when the coughing had started. The smell of rose petals made Merlin realise that it was Queen Annis who was supporting his weight.

"Here." Gauis said, helping pile up the pillows against the headboard of the bed. Somewhat reluctantly the Queen allowed Gauis and Gwaine to shift Merlin so that he was no longer leaning against her, instead she could move back to her previous seat and talk to the boy face to face. His eyes betrayed the tiredness that was threatening to overwhelm him though, and her resolve to explain the situation wavered slightly.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, placing her hand over Merlin's and squeezing reassuringly. The boy nodded in response.

"Her majesty, Queen Annis Caerleon." He croaked, aware of Gauis and Gwaine both standing beside him, shifting guiltily where they stood. They knew something that he didn't.

"Well yes, but there is more…"

Queen Annis paused, the boy had only just woken up and it seemed almost cruel to reveal everything to him immediately, but the idea of lying to him made her feel wretched.

"Did you know I had a daughter?" she asked, attempting to ease the boy into the conversation. Merlin shook his head. "Well I did," she continued. "This was a long time ago though, and she and her father did not always agree. She ran away and we could not find her."

"Maybe this isn't the best time for this tale." Gaius interrupted. The Queen ignored him and continued.

"She fell in love with a man I am told, but he was forced away from her and she found herself alone and with child."

"Your majesty!" Gauis warned, deeply concerned about the impact that the information she was divulging was going to have.

"A few days ago, a traveler came to my castle and told me of my daughter's plight, but he could not tell me where she was. He could only tell me that the child was now grown and knew nothing of his heritage."

A small flicker of understanding registered in Merlin's eyes and she felt his hand tense beneath hers.

"He told me I could find my grandson serving as King Arthur's manservant."

The room around them fell silent, everyone's eyes turned towards Merlin as they waited to his reaction.

"I… I don't understand." Merlin said, gripping the blankets with his free hand. "So your…" He looked at Queen Annis, his eyes darting across her face, searching for something, uncertain to the truth about what he was being told. His vision swayed slightly, the room around him blurring.

"Merlin?"

Gwaine's voice sounded as if he was speaking from far away, barely reaching Merlin's ears as the boy watched blackness creeping across the room towards the centre.

"He's bleeding!" Someone cried, their voice lost to Merlin now.

"The wound has reopened."

The last of consciousness began to slip away, dropping Merlin back into oblivion. The last image he saw was his grandmother's face, her lips moving soundless as she spoke to him. She almost seemed to be pleading with him.


	9. Chapter 9

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Nine

Merlin's idea was stupid and dangerous, he had realised that when he thought about it, but it still seemed like a good idea all together. It came down to simple logic, he was atrocious at healing magic so it seemed unlikely that he would be able to heal his injuries himself, but he still wanted to be up and out of the patients' cot in Gaius's chambers.

Queen Annis was somewhere else in the castle, in a meeting with Arthur most probably, talking about taking Merlin back to Caerleon with her. Kaida had returned to the Rising Sun to speak with Erin about returning to their home with Merlin as well. Gwaine of course was doing everything within his power to try and convince Merlin that he should stay in Camelot, relenting only when Giaus had banned him from visiting, claiming that he seemed to distress Merlin too much. Arthur on the other hand hadn't been to visit Merlin once, and that was what hurt the young man the most.

Feigning sleep, Merlin heard the door to the physician's quarters open. A servant stood quietly muttering to Giaus, something about a difficult birth in the lower town and that they needed Giaus immediately to attend. Merlin could feel the Physician looking at him as the old man deliberated over what to do.

"I will go, but please fetch Gwen and ask her if she will sit with Merlin while I'm away. I do not want him left alone just at the moment. At least not for any extended period of time."

The servant must have agreed because there was a small clatter as Giaus collected his things and hurried out of the room, a second pair of footsteps following close behind. Opening his eyes Merlin realised he had to act quickly, it wouldn't be long until Gwen came to watch over him and he would have missed his chance.

Muttering a quick incantation his eyes glowed gold for a moment before fading. The pain from his stomach faded, almost vanishing completely and a rush of energy filled his limbs as the spell took hold. It did little to actually heal the wound; it just made it less noticeable. That was why it was so dangerous, it opened the door for more damage to be done since recipients of the spell were unable to feel when they had overstretched their bodies, and it could even result in death.

Swinging his legs off the bed Merlin hunted out his clothes and dressed as speedily as he could rushing out of the door and dodging into an alcove in one of the castle corridors to avoid Gwen as she swept past him, her features showing the shadows of concern. A hint of guilt stabbed at Merlin, no doubt Gwen would go mad with worry when she found that Merlin had vanished, but right at that moment it wasn't the most pressing matter on his mind. He could make up for upsetting her later.

Surprisingly Merlin managed to make it to the stables without anyone really paying any attention to him, years of a servant had taught him how to move around the castle almost undetected and regardless of what Arthur thought, there were times when Merlin could be stealthy. Saddling the horse that had pretty much become his own Merlin swung up into the seat, not feeling the ripping pain that should have torn through his torso with such a movement. Trotting out into the open air the cold bite of Autumn curled refreshingly around Merlin's skin, he wasn't really dressed for the cold weather, his jacket was slightly too thin, but he was glad to finally be outside.

The guards paid no attention as the King's manservant galloped out of the castle gates and towards the forest, so soon enough Merlin found himself riding calmly through the frost ensnared trees, their glittering white branches glinting in the sunlight as he passed beneath them. The leaves were starting to turn and fall but it would be a week or two before the branches were completely bare, that was something that Merlin could rely on. No matter what happened in life, the seasons stayed the same and he didn't have to worry about them jumping out and surprising him.

Back in Camelot Gwen had reached Giaus' chambers, stepping into the clutter room and hiding her tried features with what she hoped was a cheerful smile. She hadn't slept well recently, Merlin being injured and then the idea that he could soon be taken away from her played on her mind and kept slumber from claiming her at night. Merlin had managed to integrate himself so much into the lives of nearly everyone at Camelot; the idea of him no longer being within the white walls of the city with akin to removing one of her own limbs.

A small moment of panic hit her when she saw the empty cot, her mind racing as she attempted to rationalise the situation. Forcing herself to walk calmly she made her way towards Merlin's room, the sound of her feet hitting the stone steps pounding horribly in her ears. Her heart sank ever further as she saw the empty room beyond the little wooden door, Merlin had gone. It didn't seem possible; he shouldn't have even been out of bed, never mind wandering off somewhere.

Arthur's head shot up as the Council Room's doors creaked open, a very flustered Gwen sprinting through the gap towards him, her face etched with fear as she rushed into his arms and wrapped up hands around his biceps. Queen Annis raised an eyebrow slightly as she watched the old serving girl. She had been told of the King's relationship with her, it was lucky that Uther hadn't seen them together. She knew all to well that he would have forbidden Arthur from seeing her, and strong minded children rarely appreciated being told how they should behave.

"Merlin has gone!" Gwen spluttered, clearly distressed as Arthur tried to sooth her.

"What?" Queen Annis was on her feet instantly, hurrying around the council table towards the couple. "Where has he gone?" she demanded.

"Apparently the guards of the gate saw him ride out into the forest earlier!" Gwen said shakily, slightly angry at the men for not stopping Merlin before he had chance to leave the castle, did they have no clue how dangerous it was for someone as injured as Merlin to ride off at all, never mind on his own.

"What!" Queen Annis shrieked, matching Gwen's panic with her own. "Why was he not stopped? Why did he do something so foolish?"

"I don't know!" Gwen cried, "Arthur we need to find him!"

"I know." Arthur said calmly, trying not to let his own worry show as he tried to reassure Gwen and to some extent Queen Annis as well. "I will go and find him immediately."

"I'm going with you." Queen Annis stated firmly.

"No! I think Merlin need time to think, that's probably why he left like he did."

Gwen stared in amazement at Arthur, a touch of pride edging into her gaze as she realised that Arthur really did take notice of Merlin, more than he would normally let on.

"You can't go alone." Queen Annis persisted, grudging accepting that her presence may not be the best thing when retrieving Merlin, "At least take one or two of your Knights, if my grandson is hurt I doubt you will be able to bring him back on your own."

Arthur nodded, disentangling himself from Gwen's grasp and striding out of the room.

"I'll be back before nightfall." He told them, hoping he would be able to keep to his word.

Merlin's horse stood a little way off from the boy as he rested against a large oak tree, listening to the sounds of the forest as he allowed his magic to drift gently around him, causing a flower to bloom here and a rock to transform into animated statue somewhere else. He missed having the chance to experiment with him magic; in Camelot it was too dangerous for him to really get a chance to use it.

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice cut through the peace, causing Merlin to draw his magic back in quickly and scramble to his feet. Pain sliced across his belly as he tried to stand. Falling back to the ground Merlin sat panting heavily against the tree, muttering under his breath to minimise the pain again. He had just managed to finish the incantation and regain to some semblance of normality when Arthur appeared out of the undergrowth, still searching for him.

Arthur felt his breath catch slightly as he spotted Merlin. He hadn't realised how much weight his manservant had lost, he looked almost like a skeleton, his clothes hanging off his frame. He was also much too pale, his skin's stark whiteness standing out against his dark hair.

"You found me then." Merlin said tiredly, slightly surprised at how much energy using magic had taken out of him. Arthur didn't reply, instead he went and sat next to his friend, looking out across the lake that Merlin had found.

"You must think that I'm a complete fool." Arthur said softly.

"Only sometimes." Merlin said with a slight chuckle before grimacing. The spell should have worn off so quickly, Arthur's worried face brought Merlin back to the situation. "I'm fine really," he lied slightly breathlessly.

"Why didn't you just heal yourself you idiot?" Arthur asked, his head drooping so he was staring down at he pebbled shore that they were both sat on the edge of. "I though your kind were supposed to be able to heal injuries?" Arthur felt Merlin tense next to him; mentally he cursed himself, brilliant way to start the conversation.

"I was thinking the other night." Arthur tried, choosing a different angle to approach the situation. "All those situations that you managed to somehow miraculously escape, the times when I should have really died but for some reason I didn't, that was your magic wasn't it? I should have really seen it before, but I didn't notice until I started thinking about all the strange things that seem to happen around you."

Merlin didn't reply, he just watched the lake lap gently at the land.

"Are you going to kill me?" the warlock asked nervously, the familiar warm, sticky feeling of reopening the wound across stomach spreading across his hand as he attempted ignore the pain.

"Are you plotting to destroy Camelot?" Arthur shot back,

"No."

"Then why would I execute you?"

"You think magic is evil." Merlin stated simply, remembering Arthur after his father's death. "Your father spent his life trying to _purge_ it from the Kingdom."

"You're not evil Merlin." Arthur said kindly, "I think I may need to re-evaluate some of my views, my father was not always right in everything he did; I just wish you didn't have to lie to me about so much."

"Well you generally do insist of being a royal prat most of the time." Merlin chuckled, wincing as he pulled at his stomach muscles. A groan escaped the boy's lips as he watched the lake sway slightly.

"Merlin?" Arthur called, scrabbling to his knees to get a better look at his friend as Merlin pitched sideways. A small tear escaped from the corner of Merlin's eye.

"What am I supposed to do Arthur?" he whispered as he slipped unconscious, the rain stain growing across his middle. "How do I fix this?"

Arthur realised that Merlin wasn't talking about his magic anymore.

"ELYAN! PERCIVAL!" Arthur bellowed over his shoulder, turning back he saw that somehow Merlin had managed to become even paler if it was possible. "No, no, no!" he muttered, "You don't get to do this to me again Merlin do you hear me! You're going back to Camelot, and you're going to stay there until you are well and then you can make your decisions, and they will be yours and no one else's!"

The sound of Elyan and Percival crashing towards them broke the tranquillity,

"ARTHUR!"

Merlin's eyes had slipped closed, his breath slowing slightly as Arthur tried to staunch the blood flow.

"Please, no again." He whispered, "The idiot's got so much explaining to do, he can't die yet!"

_**So Nanowrimo is coming to an end, I failed majorly by never mind, I still have a plot to work out through the rest of the year. My history coursework is also out of the way so I can hopefully keep up with these updates and keep the story going. I know I didn't create a massive issue about Merlin's magic, but I was keen to make Arthur do something that people wouldn't really expect, I tend to think Merlin will need a best friend in the rest of this story who can understand what he's going through a little better than the others. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that if Merlin was royal, then Arthur would be pretty dam cute and brotherly! He now has an excuse to treat Merlin as an equal publically!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Ten

Under no circumstances whatsoever, was Queen Annis pacing back and forth across her chambers. She was in fact simply taking a little light exercise, and since the weather had taken such a foul turn outside she had chosen to stroll around her chamber instead of either catching her death of cold or having to face the crowded corridors of the citadel.

"You'll wear the floors out doing that." One of Arthur's knights chuckled. Queen Annis scowled at him; it was the one who always seemed to be just back from, or just on his way to the tavern. She couldn't remember his name but Arthur had apparently sent him to make sure that she didn't wander off until he had spoken to her about the situation with her grandson.

"You're very loose with your tongue for a knight." She snapped, conceding to stop her repetitive movements and dropping into one of the chairs next to the fire. The flames roared and jumped in the huge grate, throwing out heat into the room but the Queen still felt as if her bones were frozen. Its worry, she told herself. The same horrible fear that had wrapped itself around her heart when she found Hunith was gone and there was no trace of her daughter or where she'd fled to.

"Merlin's stronger than you give him credit for." Gwaine said, leaning back against the doors and folding his arms across his chest. "He'll pull through, he always does."

"If he doesn't keep trying to get himself killed." She muttered, more to herself than the knight.

"Well it doesn't help with you trying to drag him away from his home."Gwaine shot in, his gaze hardening as he glared at the Queen. "He was perfectly happy before you stormed in and started turning everything upside down."

"And who are you to tell me what I should and should not do?" she asked, scorn lacing her words as she ran her gaze across the knight's clothing. "You would rather spend your times among peasants and drunks, then take any responsibility for your own duties."

Gwaine let out a harsh bark of laughter. "My father fought for Caerleon! He died for it and you lot on your thrones of pedestals left my mother to starve in the streets!"

The Queen felt her jaw snap shut and any retort she'd been planning try on her tongue.

"You have my condolences." She said unsteadily, unnerved with the bitterness that had taken over the knight who never seemed to have a care in the world. "There are more casualties in war than the soldiers who die; we cannot care for them all."

"You have never even tried." He hissed.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, broken only by the fire which crackled and spat nosily. Both occupants jumped when a bold knock resounded from the other side of the door.

"Come in!" Queen Annis commanded, relieved to have someone else in the room apart from the surely knight. "Arthur!" she cried, her heart sinking when she saw the gaunt look on his face. "Is he-"

"My son is alive." Someone else replied, interrupting Queen Annis and causing the woman's eyes to bulge as she saw the person standing just behind the King of Camelot.

"Eleanor." She whispered, staring at the travel stained figure.

Arthur watched as neither woman made any sort of attempt to go to each other. He was still struggling to comprehend what exactly was going on. The servant had badgered him all the way to Gaius' chambers, blabbering on about a Lady Eleanor waiting in the throne room to speak with him.

Of course Arthur's attention had been much more firmly fixed on the unconscious Merlin that had been draped across his shoulder this point and the matter had been put to one side, at least until Gauis had cautiously said that Merlin should make it through the night. His recovered would be heavily delayed but death was hopefully off the cards.

She has been sat on the lower steps of the dais when Arthur walked in. Her cloak ripped in places and splashed with mud but the hood pulled down off her face and waves of raven hair spilling down her back. He could see Merlin in her the moment she turned to face him, latching onto his gaze with eyes that we so much like Merlin's that Arthur wasn't sure quite how to react.

"Welcome to Camelot." He'd said, rather stupidly he had to admit.

Eleanor had offered him a small smile in return and rose to her feet. "I believe that you have my son somewhere within these walls." She told him, closing the distance between himself and her. "You remind me so much of your mother." She told him, reaching out as if to touch his cheek before pulling her hand back quickly. "Igraine was a good friend to me when I need one." She said.

"You're Merlin's mother?" Arthur asked, fighting with himself to focus on the current situation and not question her about his own mother. "How did you get here?"

A shadow crossed Eleanor's face, clouding her eyes with fear for a moment. "I'm not sure." She admitted. "I remember being left in my chambers and…" she fell silent. "I was scared." She admitted, "I had this horrible feeling of terror, as if something was being ripped away from me and I had no power to stop it."

"So you travelled to Camelot?"

"I must have." Eleanor mused, glancing around the room as if she was just seeing it for the first time. "I just don't know how."

Queen Annis continued to stare at her daughter, her own body at war with itself as half of her wanted to rush up and hold what she had lost for so long while the other half feared that it was merely an apparition that would vanish upon touch.

"I'm not a ghost mother." Eleanor said sharply, holding all the grace of a Queen in her own right.

"Lady Eleanor just arrived." Arthur said quietly, "I thought that she should know that her mother was also in the castle and she asked if she could see you."

"I thought you hated me." Queen Annis choked, finally rising from her seat and moving hesitantly towards Eleanor. "I thought you were lost to me forever."

"Father is not with you then?" Eleanor asked, freezing her mother in her tracks.

"I- You- You don't know." Her mother stalled, trying to find the words to explain. "Your father is dead Eleanor."

Arthur and Gwaine both shrank back slightly, the awkwardness of the situation hanging heavily in the room.

"Oh." Eleanor said, sinking into the seat beside her mothers and switching her gaze to the flames. "How?"

Arthur coughed into his hand, attracting the attention of both noble women. "I must take responsibility for that. Your father was found within Camelot's boundaries and a great error of judgment on my part led to his death."

Queen Annis flinched and her hand closed around the back of her daughter's chair, her knuckles straining white as she controlled her anger. Eleanor simply nodded, her eyes gleaming slightly.

Using her sleeve she wiped away the few tears that spilled down her cheeks. "I don't know why I'm crying." She laughed slightly hysterically. "My father was not an easy man to get along with."

"He was still your father." Queen Annis said quietly, resting a hand on Eleanor's shoulder in the hope of offering some sort of comfort. "You are allowed to grieve."

"May I see my son now?" Eleanor asked her voice breaking slightly as she tried to regain her composure.

Arthur opened his mouth to answer but Queen Annis beat him to it, crouching down beside her daughter and taking bother of the woman's hands in her own older ones.

"I think it would be best to wait for morning." She said kindly. "Everyone one is tired and Merlin will be asleep. We shall both see him tomorrow."

Eleanor accepted the offer with a small nod and the Queen turned her attention back towards Arthur and his knight.

"Could you please ask for one of the servants to prepare a bath for my daughter?" she said, "And I doubt that we have need of your little guard-dog anymore."

"Of course." Arthur replied, grabbing hold of Gwaine's arm and almost yanking him out of the room. "I'll send a servant to attend to you immediately."

Closing the door behind him Arthur finally released Gwaine when they were halfway down the third corridor, catching sight one of the army of servants and relaying Queen Annis' wishes before carrying on towards the royal chambers.

"So…" Gwaine said "Merlin seems to have a fair amount of family."

There was a muffled grunt as Arthur stopped suddenly and Gwaine crashed into him. "Princess! What the hell?"

"Why now?" Arthur demanded, rounding to face Gwaine. "Why would they all turn up right now?"

Gwaine shrugged, confused by the question.

"Merlin had no clue about his family before this." Arthur said quietly, keeping his voice down so no one would overhear. "But now he has relatives popping up all over the place, and ones in significant positions of power."

"And…" Gwaine prompted. "I'm failing to see your point."

"This sort of thing doesn't just happen." Arthur growled, his temper spiking. "Someone is playing games with him."

"Oh!" Gwaine murmured. "And let me guess; only you are allowed to play games when it comes to Merlin."

"Exactly. No one messes around with Merlin's life except me!"

"You're such a good friend you know that Princess."

"I thought sarcasm was the lowest form of wit." Arthur shot back.

"You would know." Gwaine chuckled. "Yow! Hey, don't punch a guy in the head!"

_**YES! I updated at last! Woo! So I want to hear what you all thought, does this work, are you enjoying it? Let me know and if you have chance check out some more of my work and fan fictions, just Google caroljforrester and you should get a massive list of all my bits and bobs for you to read. **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Eleven

Hunith woke with a knot of worry already formed in her stomach. Staring at the ceiling of her tiny home she felt it weighing down on her, curling in on itself. There was no doubt to what it was, the feeling was horrible but familiar, and it nearly always had something to do with Merlin.

There had been no letter, no messenger or panicked Arthur at her door, so perhaps the feeling was one of those rare times when the trouble brewing had nothing to do with her son. Hunith discarded the thought almost as soon as it arrived. Merlin, Camelot and trouble seemed to be one and the same in recent years.

Dragging herself from the bed, Hunith pushed away the worry to the back of her mind, focusing on the chores instead. There was nothing else she could do. Taking off to Camelot would mean a two day walk at least, a dangerous undertaking for a woman, never mind one of her build. Not only that, but there was no guarantee Merlin would be in Camelot, or that he would still be in trouble when she got there. Even then, what could she do if he was?

Staying where she was seemed like the most logical decision she could make. It was sensible. Though sensible didn't mean she had to like it.

The knock on her door came around midday. With her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and bread dough coating her hands Hunith refused to look in the direction of the sound. Her heart had frozen at the sound of panting on the other side of the door, heavy and loud she recognised the creature.

Setting her shoulders she quickly scrubbed her hands with a nearby cloth, dumped it down on the table next to the unfinished dough and moved confidently towards the door. With each footstep she began to reason with herself. Hunith had known that this day would come eventually. Secrets always had a way of worming their way out into the open, especially the sort she had been carrying around.

Pulling open the door Hunith blinked, fixated on the person stood in front of her. Surprise had written itself across her face, striking her dumb as her memory work to bring up the image of a much younger girl than the one before her.

"Kaida!" she managed, still unable to quite believe her own eyes. The child had grown up, as all children do, but the young woman before Hunith barely seemed to resemble the child that had once been in her care at all.

"Hunith." Said Kaida, razors edging her words.

As if waking from a spell Hunith suddenly remember her manners, dropping down into a sweeping courtesy.

"What are you doing?" Kaida hissed, "Get up!" catching hold of Hunith arm she pulled her step-mother's old maid back up to full height, ushering her and Hemlock inside before anyone in the village took too much notice.

"It's bad enough that I turned up with Hemlock! You'll have every tongue in Kingdom wagging!"

Pressing the door closed behind them Kaida hurried over to the windows and pulled the shutters closed. There had been a few strange looks when a girl and a wolf had wondered into the village, but it would just be passed off as another strange traveller, unless there was reason to believe she was something more.

"I didn't expect to ever see you at my door m'lady." Hunith said quietly, watching Kaida's movements and admiring how silent each movement was. Even as a child Kaida had been more interested in swords and fighting than dresses or sewing, interests which had driven the girl's grandmother to distraction.

"_Kaida!" chastised the Queen as her granddaughter came racing into the castle from the rain, followed shortly by her cousin Erin. The five years olds had been playing in the rain after escaping the clutches of the castle's nursery maid. _

"_Look at you!" the Queen sighed, placing a hand to her temple in the hopes of soothing the starts of a headache._

_The children were covered from head to foot in mud, their indignant squeals filling the entrance hall as the staff attempted to dry them off. _

"_Why can you not endeavour to spend your time on more lady-like pursuits?" pleaded the Queen, crouching down so that she was almost at the same height as her granddaughter. "This gallivanting about in the mud and rain will do you no good when it comes to finding a husband."_

_In true five year old style Kaida stuck out her tongue and made a sound of disgust._

"_Boys are icky!" she said, grinning at Erin as he shot her a reproachful look._

"_Hey." He muttered, "I'm not icky."_

"_You're the ickiest." Kaida assured him. "I don't need a husband!" The second statement was directed at her grandmother but Kaida's attentions had been turned to wrestling away from the maid who was rubbing at her hair a little too vigorously. _

"_Hunith!" The Queen called, a hint of desperation tingeing her voice. "Can you not do something with this girl?" _

"_I will do my best your majesty." Hunith assured her, hurrying from her place in a nearby doorway and grabbing hold of both Kaida and Erin's hands. _

"_But Hunith!" Kaida protested. "I want to be a knight, not a princess! I don't want to marry!"_

_Hunith hushed her quickly, but the Queen was already out of earshot, reassured that her granddaughter was in capable hands. _

"_You will always be a princess Kaida." Hunith said, leading the two children back towards their chambers. _

"_But I want to be a knight like Daddy was!" she said with a pout, allowing herself to be dragged along. "Why can't I be a knight?"_

"_Girls can't be knights, it's not allowed." Erin piped in, sounding rather pleased with himself as he did. _

_Kaida elbowed him in the ribs._

"_You're just saying that because I always beat you in a fight." She teased. _

"_I let you win." Erin scowled, trying to protect his ego. _

"_Why can't I be a knight?" Kaida asked again, looking up at Hunith expectantly. "Being a Princess is stupid, Knights are much better."_

_Hunith sighed with much the same exasperation as the Queen just had._

"_Princesses are not supposed to fight in battles Kaida." She explained as kindly as she could. "It's not what is expected of them."_

"_But I want to!" she wined, pulling on Hunith's hand._

_Hunith simply shook her head and continued walking._

"_I will be a knight." Kaida said firmly. "I will be a knight and no one is going to stop me."_

Hunith found herself laughing, earning a look of complete bemusement from Kaida who had finished checking all the windows and was now leaning against the fireplace with Hemlock at her feet.

"What are you laughing at?" Kaida asked, searching the room for the source of Hunith's personal joke.

"Your grandmother was so sure that you would outgrow the need to run around with swords and shields." Hunith spluttered, her chuckles trailing off as she managed to regain her composure. "She called it a phase."

Kaida snorted in amusement.

"I think she gave up trying to convince me that I was wasting my time, and then Imogene hatched and she stood as much chance from stopping me doing what I wanted as a cobweb rope."

"Imogene?" Hunith's brow furrowed in confusion.

"My dragon." Kaida clarified. "She hatched after you vanished."

"Of course." Hunith said, trying to mask the hurt that flashed across her face. The accusation was clear in Kaida's voice but she thought better than to mention it.

Kaida's hand strayed to her belt, brushing against the hilt of her dagger nervously.

"Everything is falling apart." She said, her voice cracking slightly. "I was supposed to come here and find my baby brother! Not end up in Camelot, fighting to keep this massive web in one piece when the people who tangled it up are tearing it apart!"

"You know about Merlin." Hunith said softly, finding herself unsurprised by the idea. "I suppose it was inevitable, how did he take it?"

"Not all that well." Kaida said dryly. "He was struggling to cope with an attack on his life, an estranged sister from his royal Dragon Lord father, an estranged grandmother who's a Queen, finding out his mother is not his mother and having a pet wolf whose about as normal as its master."

Hunith gaped at the sudden burst of information.

"Oh, and I almost forgot." Kaida added hysterically. "I'm pretty sure I spotted Eleanor wandering into Camelot just before Hemlock dragged be this tiny village in the middle of nowhere!"

"Hemlock brought you here?" Hunith whispered, glancing at the wolf who seemed half asleep.

"Is that really the bit you want to focus on?" Kaida scowled, "I would have thought that seemingly the entirety of Merlin's family decided to spontaneously descended upon him. Let us not forget that baring Eleanor, none of them are even supposed to know he exists!"

Hunith collapsed onto a small stool beside the table, dropping her head into her hands.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." She moaned, her heart wrenching as she thought about her son in Camelot. Despite his birth he was still her son.

"Well it did, so what are we going to do about it?"

Looking up Hunith locked gazes with Kaida. The girl had grown into a woman made of steel, unyielding and stronger than anything a person could throw against her. Hunith envied her that strength right then, wishing for a moment that she could stand fight for Merlin the same was that Kaida could. She couldn't bring a sword of dagger against his foes, she could only provide comfort and support in the aftermath.

The horrible realisation hit her. She couldn't even off comfort or support this time, since she was the foe, or at least part of it. She had lied and plotted with the rest of them, hiding the truth even from Merlin.

"Hunith!" Kaida said sharply. "What are you going to do?"

There was silence as Hunith thought over her options.

"I will have to face my son." She said ruefully, tears glittering in her eyes as she stood up and brushed off her skirts. "There is nothing else to do."

"He's not your son. Not anymore." Kaida reminded her, though some of the previous edge had gone from her voice.

"He will always be my son Kaida." Hunith told her. "Even if he hates me for what I have done, he will always hold a place in my love as my son."

_**Such a sappy ending I know! I couldn't help myself. I must say thank you to servant123, they filled my inbox the other day with reviews on this story. It's the main reason why I got going to wrote an update, the guilt got me to pull a new chapter to the top of my to do list. Hopefully I will get the next chapter up soon, until then, keep reading! It's good for your brain.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters!**_

Chapter Eleven

"So it works in the same way as the Druids' speaking to each other with their minds?" Merlin asked, his voice unsure and his eyebrows almost touching as his forehead furrowed in concentration.

"No, not exactly." Erin replied, sitting on one of the chairs next to Merlin's bed. "It- It works- It's complicated." He conceded, not wanting to admit that he couldn't really explain the finer details of the device.

The device in question was a copper coin that sat snugly in the palm of Merlin's hand. Examining the ruins carved into the circumference, Merlin found he could recognise the odd one of two, like the symbol for union and another for danger.

Erin had brought the item into the room two hours before, and since then the pair had been discussing its workings, alongside numerous tangents, most of which concern magic. Glad for the distraction and the company, Merlin had launched into the conversation happily, trying to ignore heavily furnished chamber around him.

After his little 'escapade' as Arthur had dubbed it, Annis had demanded that Merlin be lodged in the guest rooms adjacent to her own. Arthur had little choice but to agree, and grudgingly allow Annis to also post two of her own guards outside the doors.

"You're almost as bad as Kilgharrah." Merlin commented, turning the coin over to see what was on the back. "At least his cryptic remarks seem almost poetic."

Erin snorted. "A dragon is cryptic because it chooses to be, I'm just trying to bluff my way through gaps in my knowledge."

"I think that's all I do when it comes to magic." Merlin said, dropping his hands down into his lap. "There is only so much I can learn for Gaius' books, and even then, most of the useful ones are too dangerous to read. If Arthur ever found them-"

Merlin broke off, suddenly remembering that Arthur already knew about his magic and about most of the magic related incidents that Merlin had orchestrated to keep Camelot standing.

"He knew for two years." Merlin said thoughtfully, not really speaking to Erin or anyone else for that matter.

Shifting uncomfortably Erin coughed to clear his throat and attempted to bring the conversation back around to the coin.

"You can use it to contact Kaida. She wanted to give you something that would allow you to contact her both in an emergency, and also, if you simply wanted to talk."

Merlin's left eyebrow rose slightly.

"If I wanted to talk?" he repeated, the corners of his lips twitching as he saw the distinctly awkward expression on Erin's face. They both knew perfectly well that Kaida did not put herself across as the sort of person who offered herself up as someone that you could just 'talk' to.

"She may have phrased it slightly differently." Erin admitted.

Chuckling, Merlin turned his attention back to the coin.

"Tell her that I said thank you."

Erin nodded but didn't say anything in response. They were, in all honesty, family. But there was a constant distance that neither one really considered to bridge. Merlin was happy enough to allow Erin in far enough so that they could discuss magic, and Erin was content to offer what knowledge he had to the young Warlock. There was no fantastic friendship waiting to sprout though, Erin knew he would not be among the ranks of Arthur and his Knight. Merlin was his cousin, and in true Dragon Lord fashion, families did not show great displays of affection. What else could be expected from people who bonded themselves to cold blooded creatures?

A sharp knock broke the silence in the room, causing both boys' heads to snap in the direction of the door.

"Enter." Merlin called, scowling at the taste of the words in his mouth. His grandmother, (as he was now _insisted_ to call her) was encouraging him to expand out into his 'princely' role. Suffice to say, the conversation had not ended well and Gwen had spent the rest of the day making sure that Merlin did not attempt to run off again.

The heavy oak door creaked open, and in a very un-Arthur like manner, the Kind shuffled into the room, catching sight of Erin immediately.

"I'll come back later." Arthur said quickly, making to escape back out of the door.

"No! Arthur wait!"

Freezing at Merlin's words Arthur lingered in the doorway, his hands still curled around the edge of the door itself as he stood half in and half out of the chambers.

"I mean." Amended Merlin. "Come in and sit down you clotpole."

Managing a rather strained smile Arthur slipped into the room and hovered by the foot of the bed, leaning against the bed post in an attempt to look relaxed.

"I just remembered." Erin muttered, standing from his seat and checking the floors around him, despite not bringing anything into the room that he could have put down, (excluding the coin he gave to Merlin.) "I promised Kaida that I would be back at the Rising Sun before now. She wants to sort everything out for the journey home."

"You're leaving?" Arthur asked, the surprise showing on his face. "Why the sudden rush?"

Erin balked, the colour draining from his face.

"I em- I"

There was no answer that he could give without either lying to the King of Camelot, or revealing one of the Dragon Lords' greatest secrets.

"Hogweed!" he blurted out, startling both Arthur and Merlin. "I need to study Hogweed."

"You need to study Hogweed?" Arthur said slowly, mentally noting down that Merlin's inability to lie well was hereditary and not specific to Merlin.

"Well not just Hogweed of course." Erin blustered. "I'm compiling a… a… a book! Yes a book, and I need to research plants of… of…" Erin's mind went blank.

"Plants that hold properties of both medicine and magic." Merlin supplied calmly. "Giaus uses Hogweed in numerous potions, but it can also be enchanted and warn in lockets."

"For what purpose?" Arthur asked, impressed with the lie, especially coming from Merlin.

"Women use it to ensure a clear complexion." Merlin told him, his expression completely serious. "It can be rather effective."

"Yes, exactly." Erin said, nodding along with Merlin enthusiastically. "I must return home to finish my book and then I don't doubt that Kaida will drag me back here to see Merlin again."

Before anyone had the chance to say anything else on the matter Erin had hurried from the room, pulling the door firmly shut behind him.

"Merlin." Arthur said calmly, staring at the recently closed door. "You really have the most peculiar family."

"I cannot argue with that." Merlin replied, closing his hand around the coin and finding it's presence rather reassuring. "They're… interesting."

Dropping into the chair that Erin had vacated Arthur ran his hands across his face.

"I don't know what to do." He admitted, watching Merlin over the tops of his fingertips. Arthur had imagined letting Merlin know that he knew about his magic in so many ways, but none of them had involved talking Merlin back to Camelot after every royal secret in the Kingdoms seemed to have come spilling out.

"Queen Annis is pestering me night and day to release you into her custody. Despite my protests that you are not mine to release into anyone's custody."

"If you told me to leave with her then I would have to go." Merlin said.

"You're not my manservant anymore." Arthur reminded him. "You don't have to follow my orders."

"When have I ever done so before?" Merlin joked. "But that's not what I mean. If I stayed in Camelot against your command, I wouldn't be able to make any sort of living. I would need to 'accept my birth rights' as my grandmother keeps saying."

Arthur felt a pang of sympathy. Merlin had grown up in a tiny village where the King never even showed his face. Being a Prince was something you had to be born into, trained for the moment go to the second that the coronet touched your head.

"What do you want?" Arthur asked, aware that it was probably the first time that he had ever asked Merlin that.

Thinking about it Merlin fell silent.

"I have an idea." He started, testing out the words. "But I need some more time to work it out."

"You want to stay in Camelot?"

When Merlin looked at him Arthur saw exactly how lost he was. Every certainty had been thrown out of the window and Merlin was scrambling for sure footing.

"Please." He said, almost pleading with Arthur.

"The gates are always open to you." Arthur told him. "And if not then I'm sure your magic could make them open."

Just like that they were laughing. The warlock Emrys and the once and future King were back to teasing each other without mercy, oblivious to the world outside.

On Canicus that ground shifted, and a furious roar echoed off the castle walls.

The dragons took to the sky, shifting from air current to air current as they circled the main courtyard.

They could feel the balance shifting, just not the direction that the scales would tilt towards.


	13. Chapter 13

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Thirteen

Parchments and books covered every available surface in Merlin's chambers. He had originally asked if he could go down to the library to work, but Giaus had said no and instead Merlin found himself sending servants to retrieve the items he wanted.

It was awkward, and Merlin couldn't help but feeling that everyone he had known as Arthur's manservant, now treated him like a completely different person. Shaking the thought from his head he turned back to the notes he was making and the open journals spread out around him.

His bed had somehow turned into a desk, and the ink stains on his hands were enough to rival any scribe. With the windows and doors thrown open the room was cool, and Camelot's sounds filtered in to remind Merlin that a world outside his own still existed.

"It's a lonely existence." Said a voice, their face hidden by the evening shadows as they stood in the doorway. "You rarely find yourself alone, but there is hardly a moment when you're not playing the part of someone else."

Merlin felt his grip tighten on the quill in his hand.

"Lady Eleanor." He said, stumbling over his words slightly. "I didn't hear your footsteps."

From where she was standing Eleanor could see the dark circles beneath her son's eyes, and the lines of pain that still plagued his face. There was so much of Balinor in him that he tore at her heart, but what she saw the most were the same blue eyes that had blinked up at her so many years before.

"_There is a direct male heir to the throne." Ghret was standing in front of the throne, his mother looking down at him. Her cheeks were sunken and the skin pulled too tight across her face, losing her son drained her, and the prospect of war exhausted her further. _

"_I will not use a child as a weapon." She said firmly, reminding the few that were gathered in the throne room that she still held all the power of a Queen of Canicus. "Especially not one of my own blood!"_

"_Then we wait until he has grown" Ghret persisted, "I shall train him myself and our army shall have a true Dragon Lord Prince to lead them into battle."_

"_Where he shall be lost like his father and my husband!" The Queen snapped. "Another mark in the tally of those lost in Uther's madness!"_

"_The druids have already told us that he holds more power than anyone before him! Where his father and grandfather fell he shall rise, all of Albion will bow to magic and our family shall have its rightful place!"_

"_You grown more like Uther every day my son." Said the Queen bitterly. "His brutality and greed has tainted your blood, leaving your baying for blood like a wolf in winter."_

"_Better a wolf in winter than a coward!" Ghret spat, his hand flying to the hit of his sword._

_The sound of metal scraping against scabbards filled the throne room, the Queen's personal guards unsheathing their swords as they moved towards the threat._

"_Stand down!"_

_There was a moment of confusion and uncertain looks before the guards followed the Queen's order. Returning to their positions but leaving their weapons close at hand just in case. _

"_I warn you Ghret." The Queen said, weighting his words. "Our rightful place was once as overseers of the kingdoms. To watch and judge the actions of those who ruled, stepping in only when the balance of nature was upset too greatly, and not before. We did not rule the Kings of Albion! Our councils and knights are long gone, we live in solitude to protect those who fled from Uther and continue to flee tyranny. To turn this child into a tyrant will burn us all."_

_Ghret stared at his mother with unconcealed disgust, his face twisted into a sneer. _

"_What would you know of burning old woman? The years have left you so dry that even the hottest days of summer or the coldest reaches of ice could not bring about any noticeable change within your stone heart. Our kind will be dead and dust before you see fit to defend them!"_

_In a sweeping motion Ghret turned his back on the Queen, stalking towards the doors and throwing them open before him. _

"_I will defend what is promised to me by birth!" he boomed, unaware of the young mother who had thrown herself behind the nearest tapestry. She had heard every word Ghret had spoken, and there was no way under moon or sun that she would let him use her son. _

"Lady Eleanor?"

Eleanor found herself staring into her son's concerned eyes. He was fidgeting with the quill in his hands and the noise from the city below them was beginning to dim as the sun set, bleeding red into the cluttered room.

"My apologises." She smiled. "My mind was quite in the past."

"Oh." Merlin said, unsure how to respond. "Did you need something?"

Lingering in the doorway, Eleanor glanced around the room, examining the books that were lying around before settling on one in particular.

"I was sure that Uther would have had all these burnt." She said with some sort of relief, gliding into the room and scooping up the book with fondness.

"Your father always keep a copy nearby, he said it was important to understand where our predecessors made their mistakes, so that we could avoid the same pitfalls."

She perched herself in one of the seats next to the bed and ran her hands over the faded leather binding. The cover was taken up mainly by an illustration of a ruby red dragon, its body inscribed with silver runes that branched off across its scales and shimmered beneath the soft light.

"The castle librarian was supposed to destroy of any books with magical connections." Merlin said, convinced that the book had not been in the room before Lady Eleanor had entered. He had gone through all the texts concerning Dragons and their Lords first. Gwaine and Arthur had helped with some of the reading, though Merlin had found most of the works had been written in the Old language, and neither Arthur nor Gwaine could translate the bulk of it.

Arthur had groaned as he picked up yet another book he could not understand, griping as to why it could not be written in a language he could read, and then he might not miss information that could be important. He had blinked owlishly as Merlin plucked the book from his hands and told him that he was actually on a page that explained the best way to deal with warts that may occur between a dragon's claws. Not useless, but not all that relevant that the current topic of interest.

Eleanor found herself smiling as she picked out the mass of books in the room with links to magic.

"It seems he failed in that task." She said wryly, "Some of these books even hold magic of their own."

"I know." Merlin laughed, he pointed at one with an indigo cover which had been locked in an old cupboard standing alone on the opposite wall. "That one is the reason that Gwaine is walking around green hair and no eyebrows."

Suppressing a snort of mirth Eleanor did her best to maintain her composure.

"I was wondering why that young man seemed quite so forlorn when he passed me in a corridor earlier today. I must say it seemed a rather unusual look."

"Oh no." Merlin chuckled. "He though the hair was fantastic, and apparently it isn't the first time he's been without eyebrows though he refuses to divulge the circumstances under which he lost them before. He's miserable because none of the women in the city will come anywhere near him now, there's a rumour that Arthur had me curse him for flirting with Gwen."

"I dare say that if Arthur asked you to curse one of his knights for displaying less than chivalrous behaviour towards that young lady then the results would be a little more severe." Eleanor mused, remembering how the young King looked at Gwenivere when he believed no one was watching.

"The rumours include a few extra angles to the curse beyond green hair and no eyebrows." Merlin explained.

"I do not think I need to indulge in such gossip." Said Eleanor blushing slightly, realising exactly what he son meant. "Perhaps you should explain how these books survived instead."

Merlin shrugged and began to shift through some of the papers on the bed.

"Sir Geoffrey loves knowledge more than his own life. He managed to hide most of the more precious texts and gave Uther enough to create the illusion that the castle libraries had been purged." Merlin explained. "He brought most of the rarer items up himself, he says that the day he trusts a servant with 'Trigarth's Complete Analysis of Magical Councils and Rulers' is the day that he'll run around the castle courtyard in a barrel."

"Camelot seems to attract the strangest of people." Eleanor commented.

"That probably explains why I'm here." Merlin muttered.

The conversation faltered and all that was left was the sounds of shuffling paper, and the final cry or two from lingering citizens outside the windows.

"This should help you in your search." Eleanor said, handing the book over to Merlin, brushing her hands against his as he took hold of it.

"You don't know what I'm looking for." Merlin frowned. "I'm not even sure what I'm looking for."

Letting go of the book she brushed her hand against Merlin's cheek, smiling softly as she did so.

"I regret the day I handed you over into my maid's keeping more than any day in my life. Yet I also know that it was what needed to be done to keep you safe and protected. I choose to give the title of mother to someone else, and instead I must settle to watch you make your own path, and try and help where I can. You will find what you're looking for, there is too much stubbornness in your blood to keep you from achieving that."

Merlin caught her hand as she turned to leave.

"I always thought that my mother was the woman who brought me up in Ealdor, and was there every day of my life until I came to Camelot."

The familiar sensation of her heart fracturing began to fill Eleanor's chest.

"But I understand why you did what you did." Merlin told her. "You were protecting your child and that makes you just as much my mother as Hunith is. I don't blame you."

Ignoring the mass of parchment and papers, Eleanor threw herself down onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her son's neck, burying her head in his shoulder.

Stunned, Merlin simply sat there for a moment, before returning the hug.

"You realise that Geoffrey Monmouth may kill you for sitting on that scroll?"

_**Arg! Enough fluff already, next time I will have to throw some more action in! **_**Anyway, you know the drill, look! You don't even have to click a hyperlink to go and write a review! The box is just below! Come on… you know you want to have your say! **

**Thank you to all my reviewers from the last chapter, I love that you are enjoying my work and I hope that you keep reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

_**I do not own any BBC Merlin characters! **_

Chapter Fourteen

"Where exactly are we going?" Gwaine asked, throwing uninterested looks at the forest around him. Forests all tended to look the same to him now, leafy.

"We're following Merlin." Percival told him, his own sights fixed firmly on the spot between Merlin's shoulder blades as the young Warlock rode ahead. The party was made up of three knights; Elyan being thrown into the mix in order to calm Gwen's frantic worrying, as well as Merlin and for some reason, his cousin Erin.

Kaida was still wandering the countryside somewhere, and Erin had decided it couldn't hurt to see exactly what Merlin had been up to for the past couple of weeks.

The trees had started to thin out a mile or so back, leaving the path they were taking lined with much younger saplings and numerous oddly shaped bounders that seemed to have simply dropped out of the sky.

"It's not too much further." Merlin assured the green haired knight. Gwaine's eyebrows had mostly grown back, but for some reason his hair had refused to return to its original colour. Gauis insisted that the effects would wear off after time, but it didn't look like there would be any notable change for quite a while yet.

Twisting sharply to the left in front of them the path disappeared from their line of view. At the back Elyan only heard Merlin's muttered oaths before he turned to see exactly what the young Warlock was cursing.

The clearing in front of them had once been the site of a large stone castle. A central hall rose up into a dome and three spiralling towers surrounding the outside with carved dragons sitting atop the turrets. Chunks for the walls lay littered across the ground with smoke stained edges indicating where someone or something had tried to burn the building to cinders.

"I didn't think it would be this bad." Merlin whispered, staring at the vague remains of the hall. The towers had managed to remain mostly intact, their dragons each supporting numerous cracks and chips, but still standing upright. The hallway was little better than a square drawn into the grass.

"What happened here?" Elyan asked, somehow sure that Merlin had the answer.

"The Dragon Lords used this as a meeting place for the kingdoms." Merlin explained. "It's where the round table sat originally, and all major concerns were discussed beneath a council of Dragon Lords who were supposed to act as impartial judges. With Canicus lying so far away from the mainland, there was no way that the problems of the Kingdoms could affect the Dragon Lords directly, so they made for the prefect peacekeepers."

"But…" These stories never ended well, Elyan could feel the disaster creeping closer.

"Long before Uther the Kingdoms turned against the Dragon Lords. They refused to listen to their advice and so the Dragons burned the castle to the ground."

"It used to be much larger than this." Erin threw in. "My father once said that he'd been told you could walk for hours and still not reach one side from the other."

"Impressive." Elyan muttered, kicking at one of the fallen piece of rubble with the tip of his boot. "Doesn't explain why we're here."

Sliding off his horse Merlin walked past the night, heading for the centre of the ruins while the rest of the party stayed where they were.

"You're not going to-" Erin started.

"DOWN!"

Grabbed by the scruff of the neck by Gwaine, Erin found himself propelled towards the floor, a boulder about twice the side of his head flying through the space he had just been occupying.

"WARNING MERLIN! WARNING!" he yelled, catching sight of his cousin's apologetic face as the Warlock slotted the boulder back into its original place in the ruins.

"Is he-" Gwaine asked, trailing odd before he had even fully formed his question.

"Yes. That is exactly what he's doing Gwaine." Erin said, "And Arthur is going to kill us when we get back to Camelot."

"He's rebuilding the castle." Gwaine clarified, his voice betraying his own disbelief at the situation. "He's going to rebuild the entire castle by himself."

"And the gardens." Merlin chirped, now waving his arms around in an attempt to makeover some of the larger blocks more safely.

"And where are you going to find the space for all this?" Elyan asked, glancing around from his own spot on the forest floor. Over the years most of the ground had been reclaimed by undergrowth and trees, leaving only enough space for the small remainder of the castle to be visible.

His question was answered a moment later when the trees began to uproot themselves.

"The trees are walking." Gwaine hissed. "The trees are actually walking! WHY ARE THE TREES WALKING?"

Erin shrugged. "Would you want to carry them?"

The next few hours continued on in a similar manner. By evening the castle was rebuilt to its full glory and the knights and Erin found themselves lying on their bellies in the middle of a rather ornate courtyard complete with working fountain.

Merlin was perched on the edge of one of the towers, adjusting the wingspan on one of the dragons in an attempt to get it just right.

"He built a castle." Gwaine muttered, remaining where he was while the rest clambered to his feet.

"He can't turn my hair back to its original colour but he can rebuild a whole flaming castle!"

"Up we go Gwaine." Elyan said kindly, hoisting his friend to his feet and steering his towards the doors leading into the castle.

"The trees walked in and turned themselves into arches! One made itself into a table!"

Erin shook his head sympathetically. It was unusual to see displays of magic on such a scale but he was starting to recognise that perhaps Merlin would never be a person that he could overestimate.

"TABLES ELYAN, TABLES!" Gwaine's voice continued to echo out into the courtyard.

"Do you think I should talk to him?" Merlin asked.

"Pardon?" Erin hummed, turning to face the warlock. Crying out he stumbled back.

"What is it?" Merlin asked startled, looking from side to side to see where the danger was. "What did you see?"

"You're floating." Erin observed, regaining some of his composure. "I mean you're actually just hanging in the air… that's… that's… how are you doing that!"

Merlin shrugged. "One of those books mentioned something about drawing on the residual magic in the area around you. This place is teeming with old magic, maybe just as much as the Island of the Blessed. I just tapped into that magic and told it what I wanted to do."

"You just tapped in?" Erin repeated, the words falling out of his mouth with a numb expression. "You can't just tap into residual magic. It's locked to the sorcerer who first used it."

Merlin shrugged again.

"You're impossible." Erin breathed.

_**I know it's short but hang in there. I have something planned. At least I think I do… You'll see next week anyway. **_

_**Don't forget to Review!**_


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own any BBC Characters. **

Chapter Fifteen

"You might almost think he was alive." Ghret said, gnawing at his bottom lip as he looked up at his older brother. The marble statue seemed to stare back, stone eyes darkened by the shadows in the crypt. Even in death his figure was mockery against the infallible Balinor.

The two brothers had never been alike. Ghret was shorter by a good foot and a half, leaving him to crane his neck every time he wished to look someone in the eye. Children and cripples were about the only ones that stood shorter than he did, his brother's hair was an ebony black while his own always seemed rather greasy and was the same colour as muddy ditchwater. The only skill he could really boast of was an impeccable aim. One that had never failed him when it came to using a crossbow.

Balinor had always been better suited to kingship, winning tournaments, swaying nobles to his way of thinking, drawing in the most beautiful and eligible noble women from across the kingdoms…

As the second and less favourable son, Ghret had received his brother's cast offs, choice of the women that not only his brother had turned down, but the ones that were only one step away from being entered into the old religion. Only the second son of Fraener stood between them and a life spent under the rule of the high priestess. More than one had chosen the old religion and Ghret wished he had been there to see them burn when the Great Purge took place.

"I would not have been fool enough to trust Uther." Ghret spat. He was talking to the statue and the servant he had brought down to hold the lantern shifted nervously. Prince Ghret was unpredictable at the best of times, but the thought of his brother seemed to send the man into a blind rage. His indiscretions were always carefully handled afterwards. Neatly swept away so that his mother need never notice one less servant, and the pretty present girls that wandered across Ghret's gaze… Their mothers were told that they had run off with some stable boy or farm hand, a travelling performer or something of the like.

The servants had learnt to ignore the sound of crying when it came from Ghret's chambers, even if it carried down the castle corridors on a nightly basis now that Hemlock no longer prowled around the castle. Hemlock may have scared the peasant girls, but the wolf had kept them away from Ghret.

"You were truly an idiot." sniggered Ghret, still absorbed with talking to his brother. "Anyone with any sense could have seen that Uther had something else up his sleeve, something that was designed to end us all! Now all you have to show for your legacy is an impertinent daughter whose mother was so sickly she barely survived long enough to give birth, and a lover whose mind cracked when your only son died before his first word. He wasn't even legitimate. Your only heirs, a female and a dead bastard."

The servant shifted again, causing the light to flicker as the lantern swung.

"Hold that dam thing still boy!" Ghret snapped, spinning around to face the servant. "Can you not see that I am in the middle of an incredibly important discussion? I cannot afford to be distracted by your uselessness! I should have the skin off your back, the nails from your fingers, the scalp from your skull! I will—"

"My Lord!"

The stream of threats dried up and Ghret turned towards the foot of the steps which led into the crypts.

"What do you want?" he asked, squinting into the gloom. The figure who'd spoke seemed to merge into the shadows, his edges blurring so effectively that Ghret could not tell exactly where the figure was standing.

"My lord prince." said the figure, sinking into a low bow. "It is an honour."

Ghret smirked. "Well of course. I am the heir to Canicus' crown, and the last male of the Fraener bloodline."

The serving boy whimpered when he heard a low chuckle roll across the room. The cloaked figure was laughing at Prince Ghret.

"I was not speaking to you little Prince." said the figure. "I was addressing your brother's effigy, may the goddess keep his soul. I find it unlikely that any would see your presence as anything other than irritating and unpleasant."

"How dare you!" Ghret's hand flew to his belt, his finger's wrapping around the hilt of his short sword. "I will have your tongue for that."

The sword came free with a rasp of steel, glinting as the flames from the lantern caught on the metal. Ghret kept hold of it for all of three seconds before the hooded figure was cradling it in one hand, examining the metal work as Ghret stood in the same position, his palms empty.

"Such fine work to be wasted on one such as yourself." said the figure, "However, it may be useful for something."

Ghret flinched as the sword clattered against the stone floor of the crypts.

"I will return it to you for now." said the figure.

"Who are you?" Ghret demanded. Leaving his sword where it lay for now. The stranger had already proven that the weapon was useless in this situation. He would have to find another way to remove the figure's head from its shoulders.

"Who I am is of no concern." replied the figure. "Who you are though, well that is another matter altogether, and one I'm much more interested in. You see, male heir of the Fraener bloodline you are I'm afraid, only male heir, you most certainly are not."

"My brother is dead, you acknowledged as such yourself. Surely you cannot be referring to that bookish son of mine? A Fraener he is not, he has no capability for power." Ghret said, glancing at the staircase beyond the figure. He dismissed the concept of running quickly, if the figure was fast enough to remove a sword from an opponent's grasp before a move could be made, he could slit Ghret's throat before he took two steps.

"Yes your brother is most certainly dead." said the figure. "You saw to that most effectively. I was almost impressed with that little act of fratricide."

It was involuntary but Ghret smiled. It had taken years, and more gold that he cared to count, in order to find his brother and make sure that the Dragon Lord was dealt with permanently. It was such a shame that informing his mother of her son's death would risk implicating himself.

"I'm deeply offended." said Ghret, forcing his smile away. What you speak of is horrific; I would never stoop to such a level!" The smile crept back despite Ghret's best efforts. He really was rather proud of himself.

"I see." said the figure. "But then again, if you had been plotting your brother's downfall, you would have already been informed that Arthur of Camelot and his manservant were present at Balinor's death."

Ghret didn't say anything.

"You would also have been informed that it seemed as if Arthur had persuaded Balinor to help Camelot, helping Uther in turn. Helping the man who tore Balinor away from his true love and the son that she would find herself to be carrying."

"Balinor would rather slit his own throat that aid Uther Pendragon." Ghret snapped, straightening his spine in the hopes of standing taller. As always, this action failed.

"Really?" asked the figure, sounding amused. "Even if the Pendragon's used Balinor's own son to retrieve the Dragon Lord. Imagine it, Balinor's flesh and blood, begging for him to come and save Camelot. What would your brother have done?"

Ice seemed to have settled in Ghret's veins, spreading through his limbs and turning his lips to useless weights. He swallowed.

"So imagine-" said the figure, "imagine if this son of Balinor stood before the Queen of Canicus. The picture of his father, the grandson she thought she had lost and the son she feared never to see again. If he was to stand before her and ask her for anything—"

"She would hand it over and more." Ibro interrupted. "She would deny him nothing, give him everything and bend the knee to rest at his feet. Canicus and its dragons would bow to his command in a heartbeat."

"Unless…" prompted the figure.

"Unless he lay next to his father." Ghret grinned.

Silence fell across the room and the serving boy shifted, edging away from the conversation.

"No." said the figure, drawing out the word as one would when chastising a child. "No. If you kill the boy then you shall simply have one dead brother and one dead nephew. Neither of which will be any good to anyone since it will make no difference to your mother the Queen and you will remain as you are."

"The what should I do?" asked Ghret, furrowing his eyebrows. "If I must keep the boy alive then what should I do with him?"

"Think about it you stupid man." said the figure. "What would anyone do with a powerful weapon? They would wield it in whatever way would suit them best."

"I see." said Ghret. "And what way would suit you best? Why would you advise me in such a way if this did not help you?"

"Ah." said the figure. "That is a question that you will have to answer for yourself since I never reveal what I want. It makes it so much easier for others to keep it from me."

The figure bowed again and disappeared into the shadows. Ghret thought he might have vanished up the steps but without the sound of footsteps he could not tell.

The servant remained rooted to the spot, holding the lantern with unsteady hands.

"I'd say this was a shame." said Ghret, plucking his sword from the ground. "But you really are an awful servant."

_**I'm currently working on some original writing and may be taking part in camp Nanowrimo, so please don't get angry if I remain awful at updating. I will be doing Napowrimo ( . ) so stop by my site and have a read if you feel like it. You can follow me on twitter ( /caroljforrester) where I try and tweet about any updates to my writing be that fanfiction or original. **_

_**I will try and keep writing for this. I really will.**_


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